Fever
by Kare-San
Summary: When a couple of crew members get infected with a virus, how will they cope with the fact that the typically harmless bug is killing Kaylee? Can Simon save her? Typical canon pairings. Post "Better Bays," pre TLB, BDM.
1. Leihuang

((Please note that Firefly and all related materials are owned by Joss.))

Fever

_Chapter One: Leihuang_

Leihuang was an oddity out on the rim. While most planets that had been terraformed were dry as dust and barely suitable for cattle ranching, Leihuang, it seemed, was the dumping ground for all the water that didn't settle elsewhere. It was known for a rainy season that was more than three quarters of the year long, and a lush green rainforest— the kind that was impossible to farm in and bred more spiders, snakes and other unpleasant critters than anywhere else in the 'verse.

To see the sun on Leihuang was considered a blessing, and today it was shining through the leaves and down on the _Serenity. _ For the roving crew of the Firefly class ship a lucky sign was a rare thing indeed. They could certainly use more of them.

Jayne, Mal and Zoe were talking to a less-than-charming looking group of fellows, trying to exchange some goods they had scavenged recently for fuel. Their last heist had gone extremely well—for several platinum hours they had been living the high life. Then the Captain had been kidnapped, the loot stolen, and they'd returned to their daily routine of barely scraping by. Kaylee and Wash were observing the goings-on, and getting a well-deserved breath of fresh air.

"How you think it's going over there?" Kaylee chirped. "Captain's been talking an awful long time."

Wash chortled. "Well, if the guns haven't come out by now, I'd say we're in decent shape. Clearly his _jing chai_ people skills are winning the locals over." The pilot shook his head. "Hopefully Inara and Book are having better luck in the actual town."

"Wish Simon'd come out with us," Kaylee muttered. "This is an awfully pretty place."

"Yes, indeed," Wash nodded his head sagely. "Pretty hot, pretty humid, and pretty—_chui sei!—_buggy." He swatted a mosquito away from his arm. They'd been all over him since he'd stepped out of the cargo bay.

"Aw, but lookit! All this green. . . S'like a city made of emerald," Kaylee smiled. "You know," she turned to him, grinning, "that'd make a right shiny story—a city of emerald."

Wash paused for a moment, contemplating this. "Well, even so, I am going to return to the cockpit where I won't e eaten to death by a minute army of insects."

"They probably think your shirt is pretty," the mechanic said, nodding towards the brightly colored Hawaiian pattern.

Wash looked down at the garment, plucking at the sleeves. "Honestly, you'd think the flowers would attract bees, not mosquitoes." He paused for a moment. "On second thought, I'm glad that isn't the case. The merits of my wardrobe aside, I think I'm going to get the ship ready for a hasty retreat, just in case negotiations turn into a fiasco. . . as per usual."

"M'sure it won't. Captain knows what he's doing," Kaylee said with sweet optimism. "An' you sure you don't want more sun? Don't know when we'll see it next."

Wash glanced briefly up at the golden orb and shook his head. "I think I prefer the deserty-dry sun as opposed to the uncomfortably-hot-shower sun. Give me a nice temp-controlled cockpit any day." He patted Kaylee on the shoulder. "Tell you what, I'll see if I can send the good Doctor out here to keep you company in my stead."

Her grin spread from ear to ear. "Yeah? Think he'll come?"

"With a _kuh ai_ girl like you sweating out here in this heat? He'd have to be a eunuch to stay away." His eyes glinted with mischief. Kaylee blushed slightly. "I'll try my best for you," he added with a smile.

"That'd be shiny," Kaylee said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Meantime I'll make sure Zoe don't get into no trouble for you."

Wash snickered. "She's the one who gets them--" he nodded at Jayne and Mal, "-out of trouble, remember?"

"Ain't that the truth," Kaylee laughed.

Wash left the cheerful mechanic behind as he strolled casually through the cargo bay, scratching absentmindedly at a red lump on his hand. "Poor girl_,_" He mumbled to himself "Completely moonbrained over that boy and he can't take a hint." He looked down at his skin and noticed that there were several identical red lumps on both his arms, and he could feel another on his neck. "_Ta ma duh_," he hissed. These were going to annoy him for _days._ What right did those bugs have to use him as a tavern?

"Madness comes on crystal-paper wings. Gotta be good, or he won't be able to concentrate."

Wash jumped when River appeared in front of him. A quick stream of Chinese and English expletives escaped his lips. "Where'd you come from?"

River stared at him, wide-eyed. "After the sperm met the egg, the fetus spent nine months incubating in the uterus. . ."

"Ah, _mei mei!_ There you are!" Simon rushed over, looking stressed and thankfully interrupting River's explanation. "No more hide and seek today, okay?" her brother scolded her gently. "I'm all worn out."

"Seeking. . .hiding. . . relative terms," River mumbled. "If I'm not hiding, you can't be seeking. Wasn't going anywhere."

Wash suspected that their brief foray into the world of the rich and famous had reminded the doctor of how much he had sacrificed for the odd creature that used to be his perfectly clever little sister. Still, as Simon protectively wrapped his arms around River's shoulders, the pilot knew that even if the doctor had been given a do-over, he'd give it all up for her again in a heartbeat. It probably helped that there was a charming girl who was completely sweet on him on the ship, whether or not Simon wanted to acknowledge any feelings for Kaylee, Wash was pretty sure they were there. Still, between patching the crew up after their various escapades and making sure River didn't accidentally hurt herself or someone else, Dr. Tam probably got the least time to relax out of all of them. . . except, of course, Mal.

"Hey, Doc, why don't you get some fresh jungle air?" Wash said, interrupting Simon as he softly chided his sister for running off. "I can watch River for a bit, show her the ship's controls. Would you like that?" he asked the dark-haired girl.

River smiled dreamily at him and nodded. Simon, on the other hand, shook his head.

"I—I don't think that's such a good idea. She could start flipping switches or poking buttons. . ."

"Promise I won't," River piped up. "I'll be a good girl. Sit and watch," she insisted.

"See? Wash thumped Simon on the back. "No button-poking. Go on out there and talk with Kaylee for a bit. Girl's got all sorts of crazy notions on how nice this planet is, and she wants you to see it."

Simon hesitated. River had seemed better lately overall, but her condition was constantly in flux. As for Kaylee, well, they hadn't really spoken since. . . since Jubal Early. After the bounty hunter had been sent out into the black Kaylee had started avoiding him. When he'd enter a room, she'd disappear from it. She was never in the engine room when he sought her out. As for her room. . . he didn't want to intrude on her privacy, so he stayed out. When she'd finally stopped being so skittish things had gotten busy on the ship and he hadn't had time for more than a passing "hello." There were things he wanted to say to her, to explain that nothing that had happened with Early had been her fault in any way—he just hadn't had the chance to.

He was startled out of his thoughts by a sharp kick to his shin. "Move it, boob," River insisted.

Simon frowned at his sister. "How is it you're perfectly fine when you feel like being a brat?"

River didn't answer, she just smiled at him and started dancing away towards the stairs. Simon shook his head and Wash laughed. "Well, there you go!" the pilot smiled. "Enjoy your time off." He trotted after River, making sure the girl didn't pirouette into trouble.

Alone now in the cargo bay, Simon could see Kaylee's silhouette and started walking towards her. He was trying to think of something to say, but the words just weren't coming. He found himself standing next to her, clearing his throat, and forgetting how to speak in English and Chinese when she turned to him, eyes flashing with excitement, and grabbed his arm.

"Shhh! Look up there!" she pointed up at the trees. "See the bird? Ain't he just the most handsome fellow you ever did see?"

Simon had to wrench his eyes away from her enthusiastic smile to see where she was pointing. "That's a Lear's Macaw," he said, observing the indigo-hued avain. "They were very rare on Ancient Earth, and people often mistook them for Hyacinth Macaws, which were more abundant, but a little bigger and a darker blue."

Kaylee raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? How can you be sure he ain't a Hy-a-cinth?" she very carefully mimicked his pronunciation of the word, teasing him ever-so-slightly. "He looks pretty blue t' me."

"Well," Simon traced the outline of the bird with his finger. "Lear's Macaws are more metallic looking, have a different body structure, and the two yellow patches on their cheeks are a different shape then the Hyacinth's," he explained.

Kaylee looked at him, both eyebrows raised. "I'm impressed Dr. Tam. You sure you're a people-doctor and not a vet?"

Simon's eyes drifted back from the macaw to Kaylee. She was still latched onto his left arm, and her eyes sparkled up at him with curiosity. He couldn't help but smile nervously and rub his finger behind his ear. "Actually, there was a zoo on Osiris that River used to love, and it had a menagerie filled with tropical birds. Our parents used to take us there—what?" Kaylee's expression had changed into a pout. "Did I say something--?" He thought over the words that had just come from his mouth. Was there an insulting phrase in there? Osiris. River. Zoo. He couldn't think of anything.

Luckily for him it seemed that Kaylee was just playing at being hurt. "Only birds I ever got to see growin' up were buzzards," she said wistfully. Simon breathed a sigh of relief and Kaylee punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Seems even the wildlife was fancier where you come from. "

There was regret and a twinge of jealously in her voice that Simon felt the need to disarm. "They weren't actually _wild_ per se. . ." he started, but he rethought that tactic and restarted in a different vein. "Do you know why male birds are so much fancier than the females?"

"They came from better breedin'?" Kaylee said somewhat darkly.

Simon shook his head quickly. "Because they feel the need to be perfect to attract their ideal mate." Kaylee looked skeptical, so he jumped into a further explanation. "See, the females aren't dull because of any difference in where they come from, they just have nothing to prove—they're inherently desirable. It's the males that need to make their worth apparent—so they dress up." The mechanic stared up at him with fascination in her eyes. . . which very thinly veiled something else that the doctor couldn't identify. At that, the Lear macaw spread its wingspan to the fullest and Simon nodded at the bird. "See? He's trying to impress you."

Kaylee didn't bother turning to see, just smiled at Simon wryly. "That so?' she asked as she fingered his golden vest.

Simon very quickly realized that somewhere along the line he'd lost all control of this conversation.

"Ow!" Kaylee jumped suddenly, breaking the contact, and swatted at her neck. "Looks like with Wash back on the ship I'm the mosquitoes new target of choice," she said ruefully. She looked at the hand she'd nailed the bug with, made a tiny face and wiped it on the knee of her jumpsuit.

Simon, still trying to figure out exactly what had been happening moments before, was relieved to hear the mule pull up with Book and Inara on board. He and Kaylee stepped out of their way so that they could pull the vehicle into the cargo bay, where it grumbled to a halt. Book got out first and walked over to where Inara was sitting, offering her a hand. The companion graciously accepted his help, though it didn't appear she needed it, since she descended from the mule with her typical grace.

"Hey you two!!" Kaylee trotted over to the mule. "Didja see the—" She glanced back over her shoulder to the tree where the macaw had been resting, but it had flown away. "Oh, well," she sighed.

Simon trailed up behind Kaylee and glanced at the two small bags I nthe back of the mule. "Do you need help with anything?" he asked Book. "It—it doesn't look like much."

"Sadly, it isn't," the Shepard sighed.

Inara shook her head. "There wasn't much of a _town_. Apparently those gentleman pretty much own everything of value on this planet." She nodded towards the five men who Mal was still trying to negotiate with. "Have they been talking all this time?"

"Yep," Kaylee replied.

Inara's eyebrows perked up for just a moment. "It's amazing no one's been shot ," she observed. "Then again, the day is still young; I'm sure Mal can managed to start a gunfight yet."

Book chuckled very slightly, taking up the two bags from the back of the mule himself. "Hopefully not. We may have enough food here to get somewhere else, but it's doubtful we have enough fuel."

"Ain't that the truth," the mechanic sighed. "S'wonder the Captain gets away with treatin' this ship the was he does. She must like him something fierce."

"Or _Serenity_ has a wonderful caretaker who can manage to undue the damage he inflicts upon her," Book countered. Kaylee blushed slightly at the compliment, waving it off. "Mind you," he added, "I don't think the Captain abuses the ship as much as he could. I think he's well aware of her limits.

"He gets along better with ships than people," Simon said under his breath. Kaylee heard him and frowned.

"Now that ain't true. The Captain just has a different way of showin' affection than most," she insisted. "Look," she stood on her tip-toes and pointed over Simon's shoulders. "He even sorted everything out all peaceful-like with the locals."

Somewhat surprised, Simon, Inara and Book turned to observe the Captain, Jayne and Zoe returning peacefully to the ship, without a single round being fired at them.

"_Lurn shwei jah jwohn," _Malcolm Renyolds swore. "What we were offerin' was worth three times what they're gonna give us in exchange. Coulda at least been decent enough to throw in a little more." He swatted at a mosquitoes buzzing through the air. "Merciless bloodsuckers."

"The bugs, sir?" Zoe asked.

"I think you know full well I ain't talking 'bout no bugs," Mal retorted. "Though I am still talkin' 'bout _vermin._"

"I don't see no reason not t' shoot them an' just take the goods," Jayne grumbled. "Don't like bein' ripped off much."

"Not like we had much of a choice," Zoe said smartly. "Leihuang's out in the middle of nowhere here in the black, and the Shen family," she tilted her head in the direction of the retreating men, "own everything of worth, so they can charge what they want and get away with it. It's one of many very good reasons people don't stop here—make sure they fuel up plenty on Regina."

Mal grunted, "We ain't having this argument again, Zoe, _dun mah_?"

Zoe rolled her eyes behind his back. "Yes, sir. Just reflecting on our newfound knowledge which might help us some in the future, sir." That final word had a slightly amused and annoyed edge to it.

Mal muttered something under his breath in Chinese as they joined up with the rest of the crew members in the cargo bay. He addressed Book and Inara first. "Glad you two made it back safe and sound. Hope you got a better deal than we did." He eyed the Shepard's bags. "Don't look like it though."

"People in town need what they have," Book said. "But it's enough for now. I was just going to the kitchen to unpack it."

"I'll give ya a hand," Jayne said. "There's a stink to those Shens, an' I don't wanna deal with them when they come back." He took the bags from the Shepard before Book could protest. Mal gave Book an encouraging nod. The last thing they needed was Jayne and his temper when the Shens returned with the fuel. Things had gone smooth, if a little tense so far, and all he really wanted was off this damn rock. Jayne and Book ascended the stairs, chatting quietly.

"Kaylee, Doc," Mal nodded to them in turn. He took note of the fact that it appeared that the two had been talking for an extended period of time and Kaylee was still blessedly cheerful. That meant the conversation had managed to go well; the Doc hadn't stuck his foot in it like he was prone to. He did look a little uneasy, which made the Captian curious. Exactly _how_ well had the conversation gone? He examined his mechanic. Not as well as she would have liked, Mal guessed. She didn't yet have that cat-with-the-canary look, and the doctors fine clothes and hair weren't mussed up any. Come to think of it, when was the last time those two had spoken for more than a few seconds? Not in a while, if he recalled correctly. Damn. He'd been hoping li'l Kaylee would have been over the core-bred boy by now, leaving Mal with the "toss him out the airlock" option the next time Simon did something stupid. While Kaylee was all hung up on him that wasn't going to happen. After all, it'd make Kaylee mighty upset.

There was on person very conspicuously missing from the doctor's side, which Mal immediately noted. "Where's your sister?" His eyes scanned the bay for a telltale wisp of black hair.

"Wash is looking after her," Simon said. "Said I should get some air and offered to show her the ship's controls. . ."

There was a moment of silence that fell upon the group.

"I think I'm gonna go check on them sir," Zoe said.

"Yeah. You go do that," Mal encouraged her.

Zoe walked off at a decent pace, slightly faster then a walk but not quite a jog. Simon's fists balled slightly, but he sighed and let it go. He had to admit to himself that they had a right to be concerned. He felt a soft touch on his arm and turned his head to see Kaylee giving him a sad little smile.

"They don't mean nothin' by it," she said softly. "They're just. . ."

"I know," Simon put a hand over hers. "I really do. . . I wish they—we—didn't have to be. . ."

Inara and Mal glanced quickly at each other as they listened to the soft exchange. Mal shifted, frowned, and Inara rolled her eyes and spoke first.

"She seems like she's been much better lately," the Companion said encouragingly. She shot the captian a look.

Mal inclined his head slightly towards Simon. "Settin' aside the unpleasantness beforehand, when that _mi tian gohn_ invaded my boat she handled herself well enough."

Kaylee's grip on Simon's arm tightened ever-so-slightly. Her smile was frozen in place for a fraction of a second, then she quickly said, "So, captain, when are we getting a move-on?"

Inara and Simon noticed the way her voice cracked briefly at the end. Mal, who had walked over to shut the cargo bay door for the time being, missed it. "Soon as the Shens come back with the fuel. Couple hours, maybe."

"I should run a full diagnostic while we're still grounded," Kaylee said quickly, breaking away from Simon and all but fleeing the room.

Mal's brows knit together. "Now what in the hell has gotten into her?"

Inara shook her head and hissed something unflattering in the captain's direction. Kaylee had confided in her everything that had happened during the incident with Jubal Early and swore the companion to secrecy. The young mechanic had done a very good job hiding how upset the whole thing had made her, but the fact that she actually made Inara verbally pledge her silence gave everything away. Kaylee knew full well that nothing she said in confidence to the Companion would ever leave that shuttle. Kaylee never had to ask for Inara to keep quiet over personal matters.

"Inara could you. . ." Simon began, paused and rubbed behind his ear, then repeated. "Could you look after River for a bit if Wash needs a break? I have—I have something I need to attend to."

Inara nodded at Simon. "Of course," she said graciously.

Mal looked between the two of them curiously. He'd happened to run across Simon leaving Inara's shuttle during their last heist and wondered exactly what had gone on. Everything appeared to be normal with them, but it was still curious.

Simon didn't even finish saying "Thank you," to Inara before he was heading towards the engine room. Mal snorted once he was out of earshot.

"Shipboard romances don't work," he grunted.

Inara rolled her eyes. "Of course they don't. Zoe and Wash are just miserable."

"Exception to the rule," Mal retorted. "Gotta be one."

Inara shook her head. "I'll be in my shuttle. Please let me know if River requires looking-after." She turned on her heels and clicked out of the room.

Alone in the cargo bay, Mal folded his arms. "Well," he said, "That's pretty much how this whole damn day's been."

*

"Kaylee?" Simon called softly into the engine room. "Are you—do you need any help?"

He could see her legs poking out from under the engine, and heard a very muffled, "Nope, I'm fine, thanks," that sounded to his ears like it meant exactly the opposite. He rolled his sleeves up and got down on his knees, peering under the heart of the ship, but still couldn't quite see the mechanic's face.

"Listen, Kaylee. . .I've been meaning to talk to you," Simon started. "About. . .about things I've said in the past and about what happened with Early. . ." Kaylee made a noise he couldn't quite make out. "What?" Simon leaned closer.

"I said, I'm workin'. Please go away." Her hand reached out and pulled a wrench underneath the engine with her. Simon opened his mouth, shut it again, and pulled himself back to his feet.

"I'm sorry, obviously this is a bad time," he said stiffly. "Maybe we can talk tomorrow."

"Sure," came the distant and unenthusiastic reply. Simon's featured wrinkled in irritation, but he didn't say anything more; he simply left the room.

As soon as she could no longer hear his footsteps, Kaylee began sobbing again. She'd been trying her best to forget how afraid she had been when Early had taken the ship, but it kept rushing back to her. Every time she heard an unexpected noise in the engine room she jumped, and her heart flew into her throat. The captain's mere mention of the man had caused her to see Early's face every time her eyes closed. She wanted the fear to stop, she wanted to be able to sleep soundly in her hammock in the engine room again, but so far she couldn't sleep anywhere without feeling someone creeping into the ship just behind her. She hated herself for that. She hated herself more for practically shoving Simon out of the door. In truth, all she wanted this very moment was him to hold her until she cried all her fears away.

That wasn't going to happen. She'd have to deal with this on her own. After all, the rest of the crew was okay. Kaylee wanted to be stronger, wanted to be "okay" on her own too; she didn't realize that when it came right down to it, it was because each other that they were able to push past these things. If she had, she would have understood why it hurt so damn much and wouldn't go away.

*

Simon was hurt, or rather, his feelings were. Physically he was in tip-top shape, as a doctor he made sure of that. Had he said something that would have made Kaylee upset? Not really, he hadn't gotten to say much of anything at all. The more he thought he might understand the mechanic, the more he realized he really didn't.

He was heading towards Inara's shuttle to check and see if River had been brought there before heading up to the cockpit and checking there. He didn't have to go far. Inara was walking River towards her quarters when Simon ran into them.

Inara's eyes widened in surprise. "Simon! I didn't expect you to be back so quickly."

"Gives up too easy," River scowled at him. "Soon as things go wrong, he waves the white coat."

"Kaylee was busy," Simon said, mostly to Inara, but trying to convince himself. "And I should run some more tests on River, see how her neural activity had been lately."

"See?" River said insistently. "Wave, wave, wave." She flapped her arms.

"Please River," Simon said gently, taking her softly by the arm. "You've been very good lately and maybe I can use some scans to pinpoint why."

"I've been helping," the girl shook his hand off. "Very good lately to help, but you're refusing it. Not very nice. Gonna be scared. Already scared, but more will be, 'specially the Captain. Won't show it though," She puffed herself up, "None of it means a damn thing." She relaxed again. "Thought he was scared with the last invader. This'll be worse."

Simon's expression switched from irritation to fear then quickly to a mix of distress and concern. River rolled her eyes at him.

"Worried about a relapse. Still better, you're just not listening," she said very calmly. "Everything starts simple and becomes complicated. Especially when it was all simple to being with." River danced just out of his reach and started lightly walking towards the infirmary. Simon stared at her, completely mystified. How could anyone have taken his practically perfect little sister and abuse her until she was turned into a girl who spoke in riddles and nonsense? How cold and hard would their hearts have to be?

"_Meimei_. . ." Simon walked after her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders again.

"Tests, tests, I know. Only ones I can't ace," she pouted.

"If you need any help, let me know" Inara offered.

"Of course. Thank you," Simon said quickly, distracted by River pulling away from him again.

Inara watched them go and said to the air, "The men on this ship. . . not even a hammer could crack their skulls."


	2. Symptoms

Author's Note: Please note that Firefly and all related materials are owned by Joss Whedon. Also, please note that I'm not a doctor, therefore any medical reasoning in this story is cheap psudo-science, though admittedly some _is_ based on bug I once caught and the symptoms I experienced firsthand. That was not a pleasant sickness. . . and to this day nobody knows what it was.

*

*

*

Fever

_Chapter Two: Symptoms_

The fuel exchange with the Shens went smoothly enough, which put Mal in a good mood for dinner. When the Captain was in a good mood it spread like a wildfire around the table in the evenings. Everyone was having a good time, even Simon could spare a chuckle every now and again, despite the fact that Kaylee had yet to make an appearance and he was growing concerned that maybe he _had_ really upset her.

"Good lord," Mal laughed at Wash between mouthfuls. "You've got more lumps an' bumps in you than an unformed moon."

"Yes, well, I apparently had a buffet sign on my back that nobody told me." The pilot said, scratching his arm. "Eat at Hoban's, the best damn blood bank in the 'Verse."

"I'd recommend not scratching at them while you're eating," Simon pointed a fork at him. "You'll only make them worse and possibly contaminate your food."

"Yeah," Jayne said, rubbing his nose and then picking a roll up out of the pile. "It's real un-hy-genic."

Zoe opened her mouth, then settled for dropping her head on her husband's shoulder and trying to stifle her laugh. Book, who had been about ready to take a roll himself, pulled his hand back at the last second.

"I gotta say Shepard, this is some mighty fine grub we've got here t'night," Mal continued. "Where's l'il Kaylee? She should be enjoyin' this with us."

Inara put down her spoon. "I haven't seen her in a while. Last I recall she was heading towards the—"

"Engine room," Jayne grunted with his mouth full. "Been in an' outta there since before we left Leihuang. Tinkerin'."

"Still?" Mal frowned. "Ain't nuthin' gone wrong with the ship in weeks, an' she gave it all a once-over when we was still planetside if I recall correctly. Mayhap someone ought t' round her up, or at least bring her something if she ain't finished."

"I'll take her a plate," Wash said. "Give me some time to scratch—on the way back _only_." he added as Simon made a noise. "I wouldn't contaminate Kaylee's—"

Wash stood up.

Wash fell down, taking the chair he'd been sitting on before to the ground with him.

Zoe was at his side nearly before he hit . "Hon, you okay?"

"Hoo. . . how'd this floor get so close?" The pilot asked as he rubbed his head.

"Hon?" Zoe repeated in a significantly sterner tone.

"I'm fine," Wash said as he reached out and patted her in the face. That made everyone pause for a second, and Zoe pulled back with a look that was somewhere between angry and concerned. "Hey. . . that. . .wasn't your shoulder," he said, confused.

Simon came around the table and knelt down next to the pilot. "How many fingers am I holding up?" he asked, holding out only his right index.

Wash blinked. "Two. . .and a half?"

Simon and Zoe exchanged looks.

"He didn't fall _that_ hard," Jayne observed.

"No, he didn't," Simon said. "As much as it disturbs me to agree with you. . . Let's bring him to the infirmary, I think something else is wrong."

"Too busy now, let the chance slip away," River said sharply from her seat. "Boob," she added, more fiercely. Inara stepped to River's side, as Simon glanced over.

"I've got her," the Companion said. The doctor nodded, seeing to his patient.

Zoe hauled her husband to his feet, and Book went over to Wash's other side to support the pilot. "I'm fine, really," Wash protested, as his feet slipped over the ground. "Or, I would be, if the ground would stop moving."

"Well, that's one fine meal mussed up," Mal sighed. "I'll be in the cockpit, makin' sure we're on course."

"I set course just fine," Wash called out over his shoulder as Book and Zoe led him out of the room. Mal might have been more inclined to believe him if he didn't nearly take another dive into the floor following this statement.

"Better safe than sorry," Mal said. "You good here?" he tilted his head at Inara and River.

"For now," River piped up before Inara had a chance to answer. "Early still."

"Not exactly comforting," The Captain commented. "But it'll have to do. Jayne, keep me advised of what's going on. Inara, you call me if she gets riled."

Jayne grunted. "Can't I finish first?" He shoveled another forkful of potatoes into his mouth.

"_Jayne." _Mal shot the mercenary an acidic glare.

"Ruttin' hell," Jayne pushed away from the table and stomped down the hall. Mal, satisfied with the results, headed to the cockpit.

River looked up at Inara. "Problems," she said. "Problems compounded endlessly. Seemingly insignificant circumstances make it all a mess." Her expression turned stony, then cracked suddenly as the girl shoved her plate across the table so hard it flew in to the opposite wall. Inara jumped and stepped back, considering calling for Mal already, but River laid her head down on the table and started sobbing quietly. "I tried. I tried so hard. I can't—so scared, he'll see it too late."

"River, everything's going to be fine," Inara sat beside the girl and stroked her hair.

"No it won't. He wants to protect me, and it's taking all his life away," she said into the wood. "I don't want it to kill her."

More than a little alarmed by River's choice of words, Inara asked, "What will kill who?"

River turned her head so she was staring at the doorway leading to the engine room. "Never left the ship. Stayed in the dreams; waking ones too," the girl said. Then River fell silent, and try as she might, Inara could not coax any more out of her.

*

Down in the infirmary Simon was shining a light into Wash's eyes. "You're not unresponsive, but. . ." He looked at the readouts on the wall. "You've got a fever and your blood pressure has dropped significantly."

"And I didn't even have to eat more wheat," Wash joked from his position on the infirmary table.

"The drop in blood pressure explains the dizziness," Simon informed Zoe. "It's probably all easily attributed to a nasty virus."

"Aw, great, he's contagious?" Jayne said, as he appeared in the doorway. "Because I ain't hanging 'round if he is."

"It. . . it's a possibility," Simon said slowly. "And depending on _when_ he picked this up, we all may have been exposed already. Sometimes the symptoms don't show until after the infectious stage. That being said, it's most likely he picked this up on Leihuang, and if it is contagious we'll all cycle through it sooner or later."

Book twined his fingers together. "Actually, that reminds me of something Inara and I saw in town. There were several children who had some sort of sickness—but nobody was really concerned by it. Said it was a childhood disease they'd grow out of. If I recall correctly it included a fever and disorientation."

"I'm not disoriented," Wash protested, trying to sit up. "Oh, gods, when'd the table start spinning?" He asked. Simon gently pressed him back down.

"Again, the dip in blood pressure is going to make you lightheaded. In a couple of days you should be fine. If what the Shepard says is true, it's probably one of those diseases you only get once—like the chicken pox. It'll make its rounds of all of us on the ship, and then we'll be done with it," the doctor explained.

Zoe frowned. "But how did my husband pick it up? He never went into town."

"I barely left the cargo bay," Wash added, thrusting his arm into the air to punctuate the point.

Simon took Wash's arm and pointed at the series of raised red abrasions. "The mosquitoes, most likely. They were known on Earth-that-was to transmit multiple diseases."

"I knew they were trying to kill me," Wash said darkly.

Zoe smiled at him. "Well, it's a good thing we have the doctor here to prevent that." She put the back of her hand to his forehead and winced when she could already feel the fever getting worse. Her next question was directed at Simon. "Can I take him back to our bunk?" she asked.

"Yes," Simon said. "He needs rest, it'll give body a chance to fight this off." The doctor discarded the latex gloves he had on. "Other than that, he's perfectly fine."

"'Cept we're all gonna get the gorram sniffles from him," Jayne snorted. "Great. Now I gotta go tell the Captain that an' there's no way it's gonna make him happy. Him bein' inna good mood for once was makin' life easier."

Simon rubbed his hands together. "I'll talk to him about it. I'd prefer we didn't go anywhere with the equivalent of a drunken driver behind the wheel."

"Hey, maybe I can't pull a Crazy Ivan in this state, but I could still land us on a planet with my eyes shut," Wash said as he got off the exam chair and all but fell into his wife's arms.

"Maybe you should hold off on the bragging 'till you can walk in a straight line," Zoe mused.

Wash made a face. "I will defer to your infinitely less addled logic, my Autumn Flower."

Zoe cuffed him gently on the back of the head as Jayne mouthed the words _"Autumn Flower?"_ and Simon and Book exchanged a smile as the husband and wife left the infirmary.

"I'd best see the Captain," Simon said. "If either of you start feeling any symptoms, sit down and give me a call over the com. There's no need to add head injuries to our growing list of problems."

"Yeh," Jayne nodded. "Sure." Jayne watched the doctor's retreating back, then chortled. "He's the one who's gonna have the head injury when he tells Mal some little bugs're putting a wrench in our flight plans."

"You're such a noble soul," Book rolled his eyes heavenward. "You remember that talk we were having about Sainthood?"

"What about it?" Jayne asked, puzzled.

*

Simon's shoes made sharp noises as he beat a path from the infirmary to the cockpit. So much for the brief period of calm he'd been enjoying. He'd be busy taking care of Wash and River and making sure if anyone else fell ill that they didn't hurt themselves or worsen their condition by pushing themselves too far. This crew didn't take anything lying down—even when they couldn't stand.

As he passed by the hallway to the engine room Simon paused. He wondered if he should go in and tell Kaylee about Wash. He didn't want to enter the room without her permission. She seemed pretty irritated with him, and though he planned to try and speak to her again, he'd rather do it when he was certain she had a moment. That meant waiting until the mechanic left her domain.

But. . . she'd want to be informed about Wash, Simon decided. That was a perfectly legitimate excuse to be down there. . .

"Doc!" Mal jogged over as Simon's foot shifted into the engine room hallway. "What's the story?"

"Captain!" Simon's back went rigid. "Wash is out of commission for the time being and, unfortunately, I don't know how contagious it might be. It seems the mosquitoes on Leihuang might have been carriers—and you saw how many bites Wash managed to get. Nothing life-threatening, just a really, really bad cold."

Mal's right eyebrow perked up when he noticed where they were standing. "That so?" He frowned. "I thought I told that _sah gwa _Jayne to keep me up-to-date. Might have to renegotiate his contract he keeps pullin' a—what was the name of the kid in the Earth-That-Was story? With the fence-painting?"

"Tom Sawyer?"

"That's the one," the Captain said, slapping his hands together. "I knew I kept you around for something. Anyway, where is that lazy-ass?"

"Off somewhere, probably trying to stay as far away from Wash as possible. I thought it'd be better if I explained it to you in any case," the Doctor said rather clinically. "Wash is in no fit state to fly, and probably won't be for a couple of days."

"_Cheong bao ho tze_," Mal swore under his breath. "I needed that boy to fly us through some asteroids up ahead. . . now I'll have to set a course around the mess. . . Damn," he kicked the wall. "Zoe ain't never gonna let me live this down. The whole point of stopping at Leihuang was to save time; now we're gonna lose even more of it." Mal stormed back towards the cockpit and Simon, who'd lost his nerve in regards to Kaylee and lacked anything better to do at that very moment, followed him.

"Captain. . . One other thing," Simon said hesitantly as Mal sat down in the pilot's chair and began re-charting their flight plan.

Mal flipped a couple of switches, intent on what he was doing. "Yeah?"

"Has Kaylee—have you talked to her in the past couple of hours?"

The pilot's chair swiveled. Mal sat there, arms folded, his expression the same one found on shotgun-wielding fathers all across the 'verse. "No. Is there some reason I should have?"

When confronted with an Alpha Wolf, other males in the pack will immediately back down, or risk being beaten into submission. Simon shifted backwards, his hands held up in front of him. "What? No! I just. . . I thought I might have offended her somehow. . . and maybe she had spoken to you about it."

Mal's stony expression cracked just a little as the corners of his mouth twitched upwards. "Well, I haven't seen Kaylee since before we left atmo. But she tells every-little-thing to Inara, you might want to check with her." Mal's arms unfolded and he ran his fingers across the cockpit panels. "Honestly though, she isn't the type to hide her feelings. . . Kaylee's always let me know full well why she's mad at me an' if I recall correctly she does the same with you."

"It did seem. . . odd," Simon acknowledged. "I'd barely gotten the words out before she was asking me to leave."

The Captain sighed, his face drooping. "It's that mess with the bounty hunter. . . I shouldn't've brought it up earlier. Probably spooked her with mention of him."

Simon flinched. Of course Kaylee had been spooked—that's why he'd tried to speak to her. "She's been avoiding me since then. We just had a conversation on Leihuang, but nothing before that. . .not since. . ."

"Probably thinks you're mad at her, after what she said about River. . .an' she told Early where your rooms were. . ." Mal said.

"I don't care about that!" Simon said, his anger piqued. "I was ready to sell both River and myself out to prevent that animal from doing to Kaylee what he said he'd do to. . ." His voice died in his throat as Mal cast a significant glance over his shoulder. Simon froze for a minute, then turned around to see Kaylee standing silently in the doorway, clutching a wrench with both hands. "Kaylee. . . I—"

The room fell as silent as the Black. Even the hum of the engines seems to vanish.

"There wasn't nobody in the kitchen an' all the food was left about," the mechanic said finally. "I was worried something had happened an' I didn't hear an alarm," Kaylee looked at the Captain, then at Simon. "Where's Wash? _Has_ something happened?"

"Nothin' the good doctor can't take care of. Seems our pilot went and got himself a head cold. Made him a mite clumsy is all." Mal shooed the both of them away. "I'm sure you both have things you could be attending to, and I need to concentrate if I'm to properly chart us a safe path. Now get, both of you."

Simon instinctively went to put an arm around Kaylee's shoulders, but checked the motion, realizing that it wouldn't be appropriate. The gesture was one he made so often with his sister. . . it came naturally to him when he wanted to protect someone. If he could admit nothing else to himself, even Simon was aware that he'd never forgive himself if Kaylee was ever hurt. In fact, he'd never forgiven himself for getting her shot his first day on board. They walked silently towards the engine room, and paused just outside the door.

"Seems things are getting interestin' around here again," the mechanic laughed grimly. "Poor Wash. It'll probably dive him nuts that he can't fly. Then again, Zoe'll just have to pamper him 'till he gets well again and he'll enjoy that." She rubbed her neck.

"Zoe doesn't seem to me to be the pampering type," Simon commented. "In fact—"

Kaylee interrupted him. "Did you—did you mean what you said to the Captain?"

Simon stopped short, completely disarmed by the change of subject. "How can you even ask me that?"

She winced, as if his words had reached out and slapped her. "I told the Captain about River killin' those men. I—I told that man where she slept." Then she was shaking, her shoulders trembling and she tried (and failed) to hide the tears tricking down her face. "I was so scared. . . but I put you an' River in danger. . ."

Simon didn't hesitate this time when he felt the urge to hug her. Instead he folded his arms around her and pulled her close. "Kaylee, I was scared too. And, yes, maybe I was angry with you when you told everyone that my _xiao meimei_ had taken a gun and killed three men, but River is. . unwell. . . and you're not responsible for her actions. In fact, you tried to protect her, to hide it from the rest of the crew."

"But then—then I gave her up to. . ."

Simon pushed Kaylee back so she could see the extremely serious expression on his face. "Remember how I said I was scared just before?"

She nodded, hesitatingly.

"Well," Simon said, "I wasn't scared for myself, and I wasn't really scared for River either. I was scared for you. I helped that man hunt my sister because of. . .because of what he threatened to do to you."

Kaylee stared at him, then moved away quickly, resting her head on the wall and keeping her face hidden. Simon swore mentally. That had been far too forward. He had made her feel awkward now and—

The wrench clattered to the floor loudly. Kaylee wavered and started to fall.

"Kaylee!" Simon shouted, and just barely managed to catch her. As he struggled to regain his footing and stand her back up, his lips brushed past her forehead. He could feel the heat radiating off of her and suddenly remembered--

"_Ow! Looks like with Wash back on the ship I'm the mosquitoes new target of choice." _

"_Ai yah tien ah, _not you too," Simon murmured. He shifted his arms so that one supported her shoulder and the other hooked under her knees. Her head lay gently against his chest, and she mumbled something incoherent. "You're going to be just fine Kaylee," he said to her softly. With his elbow he activated the nearest com. "It looks like Kaylee's ill as well. I'm bringing her down to the infirmary."

When the doctor managed to get there, he was startled by the crowd. Aside from Wash and Zoe, the entire crew was there—Mal appeared seconds after he'd arrived.

"She okay?" were the first words out of Mal's mouth. They'd been the first ones out of out of everyone else's mouths as well.

"She collapsed outside the engine room. Her fever is. . . worse than Wash's." Simon took a measurement. "By quite a bit," he added, concerned.

"Invaders," River said darkly. "Got past the defenses because they were weak. Now they're going to loot and plunder and pillage. . ." Her right hand scratched through her hair and down the side of her face. "Ghosts will haunt the towns left over, with fearful memories of terrible things that might have been." River laid her head next to Kaylee's and appeared upset. "I can't fight them for her."

"River, I think it'd be best if you let your brother work," Book said, laying a hand on the girl's shoulder. River stared at him, as if she was seeing through him, and then stood up.

"What exactly does "quite a bit" mean doc?" Mal asked insistently.

"I'm going to recommend strict bed rest—which, as you can see, won't make much of a difference," Simon rubbed his ear. "She passed out because her body needs the rest in order to fight off the infection, just like Wash's. I'd rather not drug her to keep her under, since her body will start dealing with any chemical I put in her and that'd take the focus away from the disease. For now, we should just. . . let her be."

The way the doctor fiddled with the nearest medical tool gave everyone the impression that this was the last thing he wanted. While he could physically patch up bullet holes in a person, there wasn't much he could do in this case but let nature take its course.

"So. . . she's contagious too?" Jayne grunted. Everyone glared at him. "What? I'm just lookin' t' know who t' avoid. Seriously. We all get sick at the same time ain't nobody gonna be able to handle trouble when it comes. An' it'll come."

"Already has," Book pointed out. River nodded dully in agreement with him, though she didn't say anything. Her facial expression was a bit disorienting—it silently alternated between fear and sorrow.

"Things _were_ going awfully smooth," Mal rolled his eyes. "Now I'm down a pilot _and_ a mechanic."

"Considering how hard you work them, I'm surprised this hasn't happened more frequently," Inara chided him. "When was the last time Kaylee or Wash had a proper day's rest? When was the last time any of this crew had a vacation?"

"Hey, we had a vacation just a little while back, remember?" Mal retorted. "The thousand-credits-a-night kind."

Inara's lips twitched in irritation. "Which got cut short rather abruptly," she responded. Her eyes flashed dangerously.

Mal put his tongue in his cheek for a moment. The tension between them was razor sharp, and as Mal began to continue the disagreement Simon cut him short.

"Please, if you wake Kaylee up things will only be worse." The doctor protested. "A fever like this—she needs as much sleep as she can get and, frankly, when you two start it always becomes a shouting match."

"We don't shout," Mal said, straining to keep his voice quieter then usual. "Wouldn't be proper for a Companion to shout, an' it wouldn't be proper for me to shout at a lady."

"Fine. You argue _quite loudly_," Simon said sharply. "But what I've said about Kaylee's condition still stands and I'd like to ask all of you to leave. Now, please."

Jayne chortled. "Your girl gets herself all helpless-like and you want to be alone with her?" he leered. "That's real kinky doc."

Mal and Inara's verbal sparring was instantly forgotten as Jayne found himself slammed up against the infirmary wall by the Captain. Everyone was glaring at the mercenary, but it was Mal that hissed through his teeth, "What have I told you about that _mi tian gohn_ tongue of yours? You'll cut that out right now or I will _cut it out for you._"

"Okay! Okay! I get it!" Jayne said quickly. "M'sorry."

The Captain released him physically, but his infuriated eyes lingered. Jayne winced under the power of that glare and looked at the others in the room.

"Disgusting," Inara said, before leaving with a dirty look and swish of her skirt. Book just shook his head disapprovingly. Simon's face was a stony mask of professionalism, but he secretly vowed to "forget" the anesthetic the next time the overdeveloped gorilla needed to get sewn up.

River walked right up to Jayne and put her face right in front of his. "With. My. Brain." She said flatly. Jayne took a half-step back.

"Don't bother showing up at the table until I feel you've earned the right t' be treated like a human bein' again," Mal concluded, shoving Jayne out of the infirmary. "In fact, I don't want to see your face for a goodly long while."

Jayne nodded stiffly, and made himself scarce. Before leaving the infirmary himself, Mal turned back to speak with Simon. "You keep me informed of how she's doin' an' let me know when she wakes up."

Simon nodded. "Of course." Mal gave him an odd look, and Simon followed the captain's gaze to notice that he had put a hand over Kaylee's arm in a very protective manner. Quickly he snatched it away. "As- as soon as she wakes up." He repeated.

Mal made a noise between a grunt and a sigh and moved out of the infirmary. He didn't really like spending more time in here than he had to. After all, that meant someone in his crew was hurt. Though Jayne was just _asking_ for an extended stay in the room. Maybe after Kaylee was better the captain would oblige him.

Simon's shoulders slumped as Mal left him behind. Truthfully he was more worried about Kaylee's condition than he let on. Everything about it was more extreme—Wash had still been conscious, if disoriented, and Kaylee hadn't even hit her head like he had. The fever was higher. All of the signs pointed to the same disease but. . . worse somehow. He didn't like it one bit. River reached out and touched his arm.

"Scared," she said. "All of us."

"Yes," Simon said. "I suppose we are." There were some things in the 'verse no one could have any control over. This just happened to be one of them.


	3. Ghosts

Author's Note: Please note that Firefly and all related materials are owned by Joss Whedon. Also, all the medical reasoning here is junk science. Bear with me and suspend your disbelief. To all of you who have written reviews, thank you, from the bottom of my heart 3 I hope you enjoy this chapter.

*

*

*

Fever

_Chapter Three: Ghosts_

"Oh, woe is me, for I am dying!"

Zoe rolled her eyes at her husband. "You aren't dying. You have a cold. If you wanted to be dying, I could arrange it."

Wash looked at her with wide eyes, continuing with—"And I am subjected to the wiles of a harsh mistress!"

She leaned in very closely and whispered in his ear, "I thought you liked it when I was harsh."

Wash shivered, and grinned stupidly back at her. "On occasion, yes. Though reminding me of that is cruel, because in this state I can't take advantage of the offer." He closed his eyes.

"This cold hasn't done anything to affect your smart tongue," Zoe observed with a chuckle. She ruffled his hair fondly. "Can I get you anything?

Wash's eyes opened and he propped himself up as best he could with the pillows. Even then he had to pause for a second to let the dizziness pass. "Are you being servile? I must have _already_ died and gone to that place for _good_ people! My sweet Zoe—servile!"

"You _are _going to be dead in a minute," his wife wielded a pillow threateningly. He held up his hands in mock surrender. "I'm jut trying out the "in sickness" bit I swore to."

Wash let his eyelids droop again, and smiled at her softly. "I think I'll take the doctor's advice and doze for a spell. It's less stressful here than in the cockpit. There's no beeping or piloting, and it's very nice—" he patted her leg as she sat on the bed next to him "—to have you offering to get me things."

"The offer only stands while you're still sick," Zoe cautioned him.

"Mmm," he said in a daze. "I know. But I'm gonna have to take you up on that later. . ."

Zoe leaned over and kissed her husband on the forehead. His fever was still very high, but it didn't seem to be getting worse. As Wash's breathing became gentle and rhythmic she got up and left the room.

Only a few steps into the hallways Zoe saw Book, bible in hand and a frown on his face. "How's your husband?"

"Well enough, considering," Zoe fell into pace with him. "What's this we heard about Kaylee over the com?"

Books fingers drummed against the small black book in his hands. "It's the same thing Wash caught from the mosquitoes. She's. . . resting."

Zoe heard the hesitation in his voice. "What aren't you tellin' me, preacher?"

He folded his arms. "The doctor's worried," the Shepherd explained.

She snorted. "'Course he's worried. There's two girls on this ship that boy cares more about than his own self, and neither of them is Inara or I."

Book tried to suppress a smirk. "That may be true. . . but he's _worried_."

The two of them stopped just before the kitchen.

"I don't like the way you said that," Zoe said.

"I don't like the way the doctor was trying to cover it up," Book replied in a grumble. "He had that brave face on, the same one he has when River starts shouting and throwing things. . ."

Zoe took a deep breath. "I've seen that look."

"Uh huh," Book nodded.

There was a very quiet moment.

"I don't like that look," Zoe added.

"Neither do I," Book concluded.

"Captain know?"

"He might, but he probably doesn't want to admit it to himself."

"Probably not."

Zoe sighed. "I'm gonna go check in with the Captain. See if he knows or if he's completely oblivious."

"Just don't try to make him realize it if he already knows," Book said. "That. . . may not make as much sense as I intended it to."

"I understand," Zoe said. "Though if you asked me to explain it. . .I don't think I could."

"Well, as long as it's. . .somewhat clear," Book nodded, trying to figure out exactly where the conversation had gone, then decided it was best to let it lie. "I'm on my way to have a little talk with Jayne myself."

Zoe saw the smile on his face and frowned. "What'd he do now?"

"Trust me when I say you don't want to know. He's lucky the Captain didn't gut him with one of the doctor's scalpels."

"That bad, huh?"

Book twined his fingers together. "Whatever you're thinking. . . it was much, much worse."

Zoe tapped her leg. "Then I might be talking The Captain down from stringing Jayne up as a hood ornament. Aside from you and the doctor the men on this ship take so much looking-after."

Book chuckled. "Well, good luck."

"Ain't gonna need it," she smiled viciously. "I was right about Leihuang, and the Captain knows it. Means I get some leeway. . .and for this fiasco he's gonna have to listen to me for a month at least."

She marched towards the cockpit as Book laughed loudly and shook his head , mentally preparing a wicked lecture for the mercenary.

*

Simon was pouring over the medical readings from his instruments. Each time he reviewed another set of numbers the lines in his forehead got deeper, his frown resurfaced before he buried it again under a mask of cool professionalism, and he felt the urge to scream. What was going on? Kaylee wasn't presenting any symptoms that Wash didn't have. . .they were just much, much more pronounced. He looked over at the mechanic and noticed she was stirring.

"S- Simon? Where--?" Kaylee groaned. "Am. . .I in the infirmary? How'd I get--?"

"Easy there," Simon said, hurrying to her side. "Don't try to move. You're ill. You and Wash caught something on Leihuang."

"I- I remember you mentioning Wash. . . Then we were talking. . . and. . ." she winced. "I don't feel right."

"You passed out," Simon explained, but sticking only to the essentials. "I carried you here. You've been asleep for a little bit."

"You carried me here?" Kaylee smiled weakly. "Darn. I missed all the fun." Her whole body shuddered. Simon nearly launched into a full panic, but she recovered quickly and choked out, "M'okay. Just. . .very hot. Is there water?"

"Of course," Simon nodded. He stepped away from her and got a paper cup, then filled it with cool water from the sink. With barely two strides he crossed the room to her and offered the cup.

Kaylee reached out, but her hand shook so badly she couldn't hold it. "Glad I ain't working on the engine. . ." she shivered.

"Here," Simon said, tucking his left arm behind her shoulders to help her sit up a little further. His right hand raised the cup to her lips. Kaylee sipped deeply, and Simon observed her face very carefully. She was dripping with sweat and there was an unhealthy flush to her skin. When she finished the first cup he brought her another, and repeated the process two more times until she waved at him to stop.

"M'feeling much better now," she smiled, but she was still very obviously in pain. She'd barely moved yet, which made Simon even more agitated. None of this should be happening! Kaylee should be a little dizzy, sleep it off, and then go back to being as lively as she ever was.

"Can you try and sit up for me?" he asked. "It's important."

"O- okay," she said, and pushed herself up. "Oh!" she fell back, tears in her eyes. "Everything is spinning. My head hurts."

"I'm sorry!" Simon said quickly. "I shouldn't have made you do that. You don't have to try again."

"You. . . sound upset," Kaylee observed, tilting her head to look in his direction.

"I'm concerned," he clarified, beginning to rummage through his supplies looking for a low-dose painkiller he could give her. "As your doctor, I'm always going to be upset when you're unwell. Most people go into my profession to make people better because they don't like seeing them sick."

"So, just a—just a professional concern?" The mechanic said, this time with another sort of pain in her voice.

Simon stopped looking through the drawers. "No. I'm also concerned because it's you. You're a very special person to—to all of us on _Serenity_." He finally found the painkiller and injected a dose into her arm. "This should help with the headache," he said quietly.

Kaylee reached up and touched his face, and gave him a truly heartbreaking smile. "You're so sweet Simon." She might have said more, but her whole body shuddered again. "Don't much like the way that feels," Kaylee whispered, a bit of fear creeping into her tone.

"You'll be fine," Simon assured her. He was lying and he hated himself for it. It was becoming rapidly clear that this wasn't going to be solved by long naps. He began looking for an immunization kit or other anti-viral medicine and was unnerved when he found that they only had three small doses left. "River's been worried about you. I—everyone's worried about you." His sister had scuttled out of the infirmary a little while after the rest of the crew had left, but she made sure to extract an "I promise I'll make her better" from her brother before she left.

"They shouldn't be," Kaylee said sleepily. "I got the best doctor in the 'verse lookin' out for me. Funny, that."

"How so?" Simon asked, as he read the label on the doses. He injected her with one of the precious doses of anti-viral medicine, praying that it would kick in and set everything right within the hour or so. Or at least help her show improvement.

"'Cuz ain't no way I'd be—I'd be seein' a Core doctor if River hadn't gotten. . . an' if I hadn't slept with _Serenity's_ mechanic."

Simon was shocked when he heard that last phrase. Was delirium setting in? "Kaylee. . . _you_ are the ship's mechanic."

"Wasn't always," she giggled, but it was interrupted by a cough. "_Serenity_ got stranded on my homeworld, an' Bester—the old mechanic—happened t' take a shine t' me. He was awful cute, showed me the engine room an'. . . well the Captain walked in, and Bester told him the ship was broke, nothin' doin', an' I fixed her an' proved him wrong. I got hired right there an' Bester got left." Her eyes fluttered, but then snapped back open. "You ain't mad, are ya?"

"Mad?" Simon said, blinking.

"'Cuz since you've come on board I swear I ain't been with anyone. Not even Tracey." Though Kaylee couldn't see what the doctor dropped, there was a loud clattering noise. "Simon?"

"I'm okay!" The doctor said, his voice cracking. He gathered up the cotton swab canister he'd knocked over, dumping the swabs that had fallen on the floor into the trash. He hated wasting resources like that, but they were contaminated now. Obviously, contaminated. Completely contaminated.

He was trying his very best to _not_ think about what Kaylee had just said to him.

"If you're tired, go to sleep," Simon said. "you don't have to stay up on my account. I'll be here when you wake up."

"I want you to tell me you aren't mad," Kaylee said stubbornly.

He continued to dump cotton balls. "I'm not."

"Don't believe you," she returned.

Simon sighed. He finished cleaning, walked over to Kaylee's side, picked up her hand and looked into her eyes. "I'm not mad at you. Even when I do get mad—I don't stay that way for long. You, however, are going to regret telling me all these stories about yourself if you continue. So, go to sleep."

She smiled softly at him and her eyes slowly began to close. As Simon went to pull his hand, away, however, her grip on it tightened and her eyes opened again. "You promise you'll be here?"

"When you wake up," Simon assured her. "I promise." Her gave her hand a slight squeeze, which she returned, weakly. Then she closed her eyes. After a few seconds of watching her breathe it occurred to Simon that he hadn't called the Captain like he was supposed to. He groaned slightly at the prospect of Mal finding that out, but decided it was better to tell the Captain now, rather than later. He took a couple of steps out of the infirmary and used the com there, so as not to disturb the sleeping mechanic. He decided to try calling the cockpit first since he was unsure of the Captain's current whereabouts. When he opened the line Simon heard:

"—better give him real fire and brimstone because anything he don't get verbally I'm gonna give him physically. And _another_ thing—"

"Uh, Captain?" Simon said uncertainly.

"Yes!" Mal's acknowledged him, cutting his tirade short. "Hey Doc, Kaylee awake?"

"She was," Simon informed him, "but only for a little while. I didn't really have time to call you."

"_Ta mah duh_, okay, she doin' any better?" When Simon didn't answer right away, "Doc?" cracked over the radio insistently.

"Unless Wash's situation has deteriorated over the past hour or so, Kaylee is still having a much stronger reaction to—whatever this is."

The captain's voice became distant for a moment as he addressed whomever was in the room with him. "How's he? Yeah? Okay, I'll let him know." His voice returned strong again. "Zoe says that unless a poor sense of humor is a symptom, he seems okay. Worn out, but stable."

"That's what I was afraid of," Simon muttered to himself. "I'm going to remain in the infirmary and monitor her progress. If anyone needs me. . ."

"I'll let 'em know," Mal finished for him. "You just get her better, you hear?"

"Yes, sir," Simon said, a bitter note slipping into his voice as he cut the link. He walked back through the open archway into the infirmary in time for his attention to be caught by a beeping noise. Simon looked over at the offending visual readout to see that Kaylee's temperature had climbed by another degree. _Deep breaths,_ he thought. _Deep breaths. Getting mad about this is __**not**__ going to help_.

He stood in front of the panels, the sounds of his forced breathing filling the lab, overtaking all the others sounds. Then a small whimper from the sleeping Kaylee hit him like a sucker-punch to the gut.

It was at that moment when the normally cool doctor started turning his infirmary upside-down, throwing about paper readouts he'd printed, gathering his databook, and looking for solutions. There was an unknown variable, something intangible here that he was missing. Simon Tam was smart enough to know that. He was in the top three percent of his class. Aside from River he was the smartest person on this ship. Depending on the day, and given her condition, he might even outstrip her. Yet a microorganism that had no brain to speak of was thwarting him at every step.

After fifteen minutes of quietly overturning everything in the lab, Simon finally gave up, resting his head against the wall. He felt a little better, though no more informed than he had been, but straightening everything out again gave him something to do. Once he was done he pulled up his lab stool next to the exam table and sat there, watching over Kaylee with his arms folded. He'd promised her he'd be there when she woke up, and he fully intended to be. He'd give the machines more time to process the data, and maybe, just maybe, Kaylee would start improving on her own. He doubted it, but there was always the chance, right?

Simon guarded the mechanic as if it was his life's work to do so. However, the stress caught up to him, as stress is bound to do at some point, and he began to nod off. He tried his best to catch himself in the act, to keep his eyes open, but eventually every blink became slightly longer until his head inclined forward and the doctor fell asleep, still vigilantly sitting by Kaylee's side.

An hour and forty-five minutes later, he'd wake to an empty lab.

*

A few minutes after she left the infirmary, tea was helping Inara wash away some of the tension that had been building up in her body. She was considering following it with full-blown meditation to erase the worry she had growing for the girl she called her _meimei_, the anger that seethed in the pit of her stomach for Jayne's callous tongue, and the constant frustration she suffered during her interactions with Mal. However, she sensed her plans were going to be interrupted when she heard quiet footsteps entering her room. Inara looked up to see River, looking unwell and picking at her eyebrows.

"Ghosts aren't always dead people," River said. "Memories are just as frightening. So are dreams—almost prophetic, telling us what we fear. Subconscious mind knows more than we want it to, so we bury it deep-down. But it doesn't like to stay there. It finds ways to bubble up out of the prison and make them. Ghosts. Phantoms. Specters. Waking nightmares."

For how unnerving that speech was, River was exceptionally calm, walking over to Inara's table, sitting down, and pouring herself a cup of tea. The Companion always had an extra glass out in case someone else visited and wanted some. Mostly that extra someone was Kaylee. It made the mechanic feel girly and sophisticated to enjoy tea with Inara, a feeling she didn't get while mucking around in the engine room.

"You're realizing she hasn't visited lately," River said, interrupting Inara's thoughts. "It's because he's haunting her. The ghost of a memory."

"You mean. . . Early?" Inara asked the girl.

River blinked up at her, but didn't answer. She blew at her tea, then chugged the entire glass, returning it to the table with a soft thud. She peered over into it, like a carnival gypsy and said, "You're sick."

Inara, startled, responded quickly with "No, I'm not."

"Wasn't a question," River returned.

"I haven't been disoriented or—"

"Not that kind of sick," The girl retorted in a very authoritative tone. "The kind that made you want to live for yourself, see the 'verse, find something more real than dress-up and stagecraft." Inara fell silent, but River continued. "Had to make sure. Was sure, but he visited you on Pelorum. The Captain didn't breathe a word," River added.

The hair on the back of Inara's neck bristled. If she had ever doubted Mal's assessment of River's abilities, that doubt was gone now, overpowered by River's own words.

"He loves her. Wouldn't seek you out, pay you for that. Saves everything he has for me. That's why he can't be with her. And you love someone else. But you're going to leave that behind because it scares you. It scares you to feel, knowing that feeling might end sooner than you want it to." The words kept pouring from River—a torrent that was as overflowing as her namesake could be. Inara tried to pour herself more tea, but accidentally knocked over her glass, spilling what was left out onto the table. "Some things we can't control. The ghosts of the past, the future."

"River, maybe we should go see Simon. . ." the Companion said, gathering a cloth and dabbing at the tea.

River shook her head vigorously, making her hair whip around. "Can't. The prisoner will escape one cage, trade it for a cage of thorns. He's going to be busy. If I bother him—He'll never understand. He'll never be able to tell." She laid her head down on the table, her dark locks sprawling into the tea as Inara was tying to wipe it away. "Ebb and flow, give and take. Always taking, taking, taking. Something, sometime, has to be given." She paused for a moment, then added "I have to be very, very quiet now."

Inara gave up trying to clean and stroked River's hair, though she avoided the tea-soaked parts. Tendrils of incense twisted around them as it burned. This was about as surreal an experience as the Companion had ever had.

Two hours later the scene would turn more bizarre when River started silently screaming, then collapsed.

*

A good Shepherd knew to tailor his sermons to fit his audience, to think on his feet, and how to spot the eyes of his flock glazing over and switch tactics. Catching up with Jayne after his conversation with Zoe was an enlightening experience. While Book had prepared some of his most chilling "special hell" sermons in an horrifying string of images that would make an Alliance Commander piss his pants, Jayne was actually enjoying hearing about hell's torments. Apparently there were some people, including "a _ri shao go shi bing_ Cyclops from Canton," that he wanted to get their just desserts.

About an hour and a half into this futile effort it occurred to Book that perhaps he was invoking the wrong God with the mercenary. His eyes alighted on an orange and yellow hat tucked lovingly away on a shelf.

"Tell me, Jayne," Book smiled broadly. "What would your mother say if she heard what you said to Dr. Tam?"

The mercenary swallowed heavily and turned a white color that normally was found on men facing down an army of Reavers at dinnertime. "Id be lucky if she killed me," Jayne said nervously. "I'd never be able to sit again, she'd tan my hide so bad."

"Good. We're making progress," Book said, thumping a hand down on Jayne's shoulder. "Think of God as you mother—except she can see you wherever and whenever and whatever you're doing."

Jayne's eyes widened. "Anytime? Anywhere?"

"Yes," Book said.

"Y'mean she watches me whiz. . . and in my _bunk?"_

Book opened his mouth and made a strangled noise. "Nnnnnnot quite. . ."

Jayne stared at him, dumbfounded.

"You know, I'm just going to let you think about all of this for a little while. You can come to me when you've realized the ramifications of your actions," Book waved a finger at him, then left the room. As soon as he was out of earshot, the Shepherd doubled over in laughter.

*

Five minutes before Simon would wake up, Kaylee woke for a second time. Her head was throbbing, and she was in the infirmary, but she couldn't remember why. She got off the table, though she slipped and had to steady herself against the counter. There was work to be done, she couldn't be sitting around here watching Simon sleep or whatever she was doing. He looked really cute, snoring slightly as he balanced on the stool. She wanted to caress his cheek, but knew that would wake him. She should let him sleep.

The ship didn't seem very steady. . .they must be cruising through some sort of electromagnetic field. _Serenity_ always shook something fierce when they passed through one of those. She'd better check on the engine, make sure there wasn't any undue strain. Kaylee treaded the familiar path from the infirmary to the engine room. She hung onto the railings and steadied herself against the wall when there were none. She wondered if Wash was still sick and behind the wheel. That might explain the unprecedented rocking of the boat.

Still, there was nothing in the 'verse that could prevent _Serenity's_ mechanic form getting to the engine room. Despite the pain in her skull and the unsteady footing, Kaylee made a beeline for that familiar realm.

*

Book was sitting on the floor, wiping the tears away from his eyes. Jayne's reaction would be priceless dinner conversation. Or blackmail fodder. But blackmail was not Shepherdly, so dinner humiliation it was.

At that moment a familiar pair of sandals and the bottom of a familiar brown jumpsuit passed by him. Book stood up and watched as Kaylee staggered like a drunk down the hallway toward the engine room. "Kaylee?" he called out.

The mechanic didn't seem to hear him.

"Kaylee!" he yelled. She rounded the corner, and Book followed her. She looked extremely sick, and he wondered how she had managed to leave the infirmary. There was no way the doctor had simply let her go.

*

Simon woke with a jolt, realizing in the pit of his stomach that something was wrong even before his eyes were fully open. He launched himself off the stool at the exam table when he realized what was missing. He slammed his hands down on the table. "_Wong bah dhun!"_ he swore. The gears in Simon's head began whirling and he sprinted as fast as he could out of the infirmary, up the stairs and towards the engine room.

*

Funny, the engine didn't seem stressed at all, Kaylee noted. _Serenity_ was purring like a kitten after a tuna dinner. She ran her hands along the walls, as she was prone to do, reassuring herself that everything was okay. If there was no engine stress, what was all this back-and-forth nonsense? She found her toolbox and rummaged around until she located her best screwdriver. She'd just check the hydraulics, make sure nothing was loose. . .

"Hello, Kaylee."

The mechanic whirled around, startled by her name being called by a familiar voice, one Kaylee had never wanted to hear again. The mechanic's breathing became ragged and she dropped the screwdriver to the floor with a clatter as loud as thunder. Jubal Early watched it fall, his eyes cold as the Black.

"Do you remember our arrangement, Kaylee?" Early said, the red leathery substance he wore creaking with each step he took towards her. "What did I say about throwing a wrench into my dealings?"

"I- I-," Her mouth opened and closed, like a fish gasping for air, but Kaylee couldn't get more than one syllable out. She backed away from him, until she hit the wall and could go no further. She looked around, unable to see an avenue of escape. "T-there's nobody can help me," she whispered to herself, frantic.

"That's exactly right," He said, grabbing her by the shoulders. "More importantly, _do you remember our arrangement?"_

"Please. . ." Kaylee whispered, tears pouring down her face.

"Excuse me?" the bounty hunter barked at her. Kaylee yelped in sheer terror. "I explained everything to you! You sit still and quiet like, and nothing had to happen. But you didn't do that, did you Kaylee? You helped them toss me off this gorram boat. So now, your body is forfeit." He slammed her into the wall and she cried out and fell to the floor. Early loomed over her and reached out.

Kaylee screamed instinctually.

"_SIIIMOOOOON!"_

*

Even though he was already sprinting at more than his top speed, when Simon heard Kaylee's frightened scream, he managed to push his muscles even further past their limit. The image that greeted him there was one he didn't expect. Shepherd Book was very helplessly trying to comfort a hysterical Kaylee who was curled into a fetal position, weeping, and fending him off with the occasional blow.

"Doctor!" the Shepherd exclaimed. "I don't know what's happened! I saw her wandering about, she didn't look right and when I tried to talk to her she started panicking. . . said something about me being unable to help. . . I don't think she's heard a word I said."

Simon shouldered past him, and Book was more than happy to get out of the way. The doctor fell to his knees and threw his arms around her shoulders. "Kaylee! _Kaylee!_ It's me, Kaylee! It's Simon!" He might as well have been shouting at a wall for all the good it did. He guessed the fever was making her hallucinate.

"Please, don't—I didn't mean to mess up your plans. I just did what River asked me to," Kaylee choked out between sobs. "Please."

"Oh, god. . . she thought you were. . ._that man_," the doctor hissed to the Shepherd, who looked taken aback.

"Good lord. . ." Book said. "I would have never approached her if I'd realized. . ."

Simon held her tighter. "Kaylee. . . Kaylee. . ." she was still struggling, still upset. Finally Simon said in desperation, _"Bao bei_, it's okay. You're safe."

This made Kaylee look up and see through whatever nightmare scenario her unfettered imagination had conjured up and realize that Simon was there. She inhaled sharply, threw her arms around his neck and continued crying, but quietly now. Simon placed the back of his hand against her forehead, and blanched at what he felt. Kaylee's fever was worse than ever.

"Shepherd, I need you to get the Captain for me," Simon said gravely. "I have to speak with him immediately. The situation is deteriorating."

"Do you need help moving her?" Book asked.

"No, thank you, I think I'd rather not risk her relapsing into—that," Simon said. "Kaylee," he gently addressed her. "We need to go to the infirmary. Can you stand? Or do you need me to carry you?" He stood slowly, letting her hold onto him for support. Seeing that everything was going well, Book went to find Mal.

Kaylee looked at him, not entirely able to focus. "There's no way I could've fought him."

"Kaylee, you were very brave," he assured her. "You unlocked the rooms, got everyone out. You allowed the Captain to save my sister from that lunatic."

"Wh-what if he c-c-omes back?" she stuttered.

Simon started leading her down the hall. "Then if the Captain doesn't put a bullet between his eyes, I will."

Kaylee looked up at him, tripped over her own foot, then straightened herself out. "I don't. . . feel well."

"I know," he said, tightening his grip ever so slightly.

"I'm scared," she shivered.

"I'm right here," Simon said. "And I'm not going anywhere until you're better again."

They made their way to the infirmary, though Kaylee was barely able to move on her own power. She refused to let him carry her, however. Simon could see it in her eyes—she was forcing herself to be strong. When they got to he infirmary, Kaylee did allow Simon to help her back up onto the exam table. He saw a signature browncoat pass through his field of vision. Simon quickly got the second dose of anti-viral medicine and injected her in the shoulder.

"I'll be right back," Simon told her. "If you need anything, I'll be within earshot."

"All right," Kaylee said softly. "I'm gonna let my eyes rest a spell."

Simon tapped the doorframe twice and nodded at her, then stepped out from the door and nearly into Mal Renyold's chest. "Let's take a short walk," he said.

"I told Kaylee—"

"I heard. We're just goin' 'round the corner," the Captain said in a dangerously quiet voice. He slapped the doctor on the back, nearly knocking him off his feet. When they had moved out of line-of-sight from the infirmary, Mal snarled, "What the hell is goin' on doc? Why's my mechanic havin' waking nightmares of men she should never have to think about again? I checked on Wash before I came here. 'Sides from looking cross-eyed and woozy, he's almost normal. Hell, couldn't hardly tell there was something wrong for him if his coordination was as backwards as my "ex-wife's" views on marriage. So you best be tellin' me why my girl is fallin' apart, what needs to be done to fix the situation—_and why you ain't done it yet!"_

Simon ran his hands through his hair, pulling at it. "I'm doing everything I _can_," he shouted back at Mal. "You think I _like_ seeing her this way? That I want her to suffer like this? That I want her to think she's in the clutches of the mongrel who told me explicitly he'd violate Kaylee and she'd died weeping?"

"Eeerhhmmnn," Mal grumbled. The doctor's anger at himself was more than adequate for the Captain. If he thought for one second that Simon was half-assing his way through this. . . but he knew, in his heart, that Simon wasn't. He couldn't. Not when it came to Kaylee. Of all the boats in the 'verse, why'd this Core-boy have to pick his? Kaylee was never allowed to round up customers again. He'd just have to do it himself. "So what's going on?"

"Her reaction is extreme. The kind of extreme that I'd expect from a person who'd never had any childhood vaccinations or someone with a compromised immune system—" Simon started, but he stopped when he saw a flicker of emotion cross Mal's face.

"What makes you think she ever had vaccinations?" the Captain's voice came as a hoarse whisper.

"Huh?" Simon choked.

"_How w'rin ba lai whai w'rin bu jwo_, Doc, Kaylee call a chunk of rock in the middle of nowhere home. Her daddy barely had work, an', from what Li'l Kaylee tol' me, he was relieved that she got a real job on a real ship with a real Captain, because he thought he was gonna watch his baby girl be forced to sell herself for money t' help the family. Out on the rim we don't have medical plans or standard treatments like they have in the Core. Hell, Zoe an' I didn't get vaccinated 'gainst anything 'till we was in the war. They weren't really concerned about our health either, they just didn't want us dying of anything other than bullet holes."

Simon put a hand out to steady himself, the ramifications of this new information making him turn quite pale. That was it, the unknown variable he'd been trying so hard to decipher. He'd just assumed everyone had been treated to certain elements of the privileged upbringing he'd been accustomed to. He always forgot the differences between him and Kaylee—macaws versus buzzards. "Wash must have been vaccinated for flight school. . . Book probably received something during his years in the Abby. . . Inara received vaccinations as a Companion. . . what about Jayne? If he catches this—"

Mal shook his head. "His momma thought he was the sun an' the moon. She got him everything. He boasted 'bout it once. Hardly ever got sick as a boy 'cuz of it."

Simon looked up at him helplessly. "If this is what I'm working with. . . Captain. . . She's. . . Kaylee may very well be dying. Vaccinations make a huge difference. A disease that a vaccinated child could recover from in less than a day could kill a grown man who never received the treatment. I only have one anti-viral shot left. . .it may not be enough."

The two men looked at one another. Mal was doing a much better job at hiding his distress than Simon was. "Listen to me," the Captain said. "You just keep her stable 'till we get planetside. Then we'll get you whatever supplies you need, at whatever the cost."

Simon nodded dully. "I don't know if—"

"Simon, there you are!" Inara said, interrupting the men. "I'm sorry, I wouldn't have bothered you but it's River. . . she came to my shuttle and just a few minutes ago she started screaming—sort of—and fell over. . ." She stopped suddenly, feeling the emotional waves coming off the two men. "What's going on. . .?"

Mal pointed at Simon in his most authoritative manner. "You stay here doc. I'll see to your sister. Stay focused, got it?"

Simon nodded, closing his mouth and swallowing hard. Inara knew without another word being said that the situation with Kaylee had taken a very bad turn. "She- she's still in my room," Inara stammered, trying to not think about what might be going on. Mal nodded at her and jogged quickly in the direction of the Companion's shuttle. She hesitated, watching the Doctor for a moment before following the Captain. It seemed like a better idea to go than linger.

Still reeling from the new information he'd been given, Simon returned to the infirmary. Kaylee wasn't asleep, but she didn't look entirely awake either. She stared at the ceiling, almost in a trance. Simon walked over and laid a hand on hers. That brought Kaylee back to reality and she smiled weakly at him, wincing. "Hey, why're you so glum?"

"It's nothing," Simon lied, looking away from her. "How are you feeling?"

"Worse," she admitted. "Head keeps hurtin' and I'm mighty warm."

"I'll get you another drink of water if you'd like," he offered.

She nodded. "That'd be nice."

Again Simon made several trips to the sink, until Kaylee had her fill. When she next fell asleep Simon would hook her up to an IV drip to make sure she was getting the right amounts of fluids. She was sweating profusely, and dehydration would only compound an already terrible situation. When her eyes closed, Simon murmured, "I'm going to make sure you get better."

"'Course you will," Kaylee said, half-asleep. "You're the best doctor in the 'verse."

If he wasn't going to live up to her expectations Simon heartily wished that god would strike him down then and there, because if Kaylee died he was sure he'd go completely mad.


	4. Sacrifices

_Author's Note:_ Please note that _Firefly_ and all related materials are owned by Joss Whedon. Also, all the medical reasoning here is junk science—and I had to make a very large science edit. All "bacteria" references have been changed to "virus" references. You only vaccinate for viruses, duh. Anyway, please bear with me and suspend your disbelief. To all of you who have written reviews, thank you again. To all of you who have read this, but haven't yet given me input I ask, why not? In any case I hope you enjoy the continuation. There will be an epilogue and a Chinese glossary to follow, so stay tuned.

_Special Note:_ A great deal of thanks goes out to Ryan for helping me get past some writer's block. Scene two is totally dedicated to him; my own Simon.

*

*

*

Fever

_Chapter Four: Sacrifices_

It was perhaps only the second time Malcolm Reynolds had been allowed into Inara's shuttle with the Companion's permission. When the Captain slid the door open he expected to see, among Inara's lush decorations, the small body of a disturbed seventeen year old girl. So did Inara. The very empty shuttle was something of a surprise for the both of them.

"She was right here," Inara said, gesturing at the conspicuously River-less space in front of them. "When I left she was right here. . ."

Mal threw up his arms and might have overturned a table had this not been anywhere else on the ship. "This is _exactly_ what I do _not_ need at this moment!" He stormed out of the shuttle and slammed his fist into the wall some ways down the hall. He fingered his gun for comfort. It was mighty tempting to find River Tam and tie her up so she couldn't get into trouble. . . wait—_had_ she been in trouble on this ride from hell? No, actually, she'd been quiet, out of the way and well behaved. Somehow, that made him a little more nervous. "'Nara, you'd best come with me, help me try an' find her. You've got a better sense of th' girl than I do."

"You've not taken the time to get to know her," Inara pointed out. "But of course I'll help. I'm concerned for her safety."

"I like River well enough, an' I think she means right by us in the crew," Mal responded, thumping down the stairs. "But I can't hardly understand her most of the time. An' I'm seriously considering putting a collar with a bell on her. Maybe a leash, if I feel the need."

Inara elegantly descended the stairs behind him. "I doubt she'd appreciate that. Or her brother, for that matter."

Mal rolled his eyes. "Well, the Doc has to appreciate that we're on a boat way out in th' middle'a'nowhere, an' I can't be running around the whole ship tryin' t' track his sister down when he can't be looking after her."

"He does the best he can," Inara said. "He sacrifices a great deal for her, even now. That's one of the reasons he and Kaylee. . ."

"He and Kaylee what?" Mal said quickly, trying, and failing, to seem unconcerned.

"Oh please, Mal. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Yeah, well, s'far as I'm concerned nuthin's gonna happen there 'cuz the doc ain't good enough for her." Mal looked around, wondering if maybe they should check the kitchen and crew bunks first. Or the cockpit. That was empty at the moment. He turned around and ascended the stairs again, making Inara follow him with an exasperated sigh.

"That's her decision to make and yes, he is—good enough, I mean."

"Makes her upset an awful lot."

"He's terrible at trying to express himself. I've known other men like that," She glanced at him sideways.

The Captain didn't notice. "Yeah? Like who?"

Inara shook her head, and they made their way to the cockpit without another word.

*

"Tell me 'bout the parties you usedta go to," Kaylee said weakly from the infirmary bed. "I've only ever been to th' one and it was so beautiful. I wish you coulda been there."

Simon smiled, mostly at her naïveté. The beauty of those parties was a mask that covered the layers of snobbery, jealousy and deceit the majority of the attendants had in their hearts. Someone like Kaylee would never believe that, though, and who was he to destroy her wonderful illusions? "Well, the one thing that always stood out to me, at any party, was River. She'd never taken a formal lesson in her life, but she could—and would—dance circles around everyone. And mother always had these very beautiful dresses for her that made her look even more beautiful. Occasionally she'd dance with my father, or me, but mostly she would dance alone, for the sake of moving."

As he spoke to Kaylee, his sister was peering in around the edge of the infirmary door, quietly creeping in and trying not to be noticed.

"I finally saw her dance again, right before we were kidnapped by the "hill people,"" he said. "And for a moment it was like none of this ever happened. Like she was whole and good and _River_ again. Like we could go home and forget all about this nightmare. Then, of course, I was dragged off, and reality set back in again." He paused, shifting back on topic. "All of those parties were, in their own way, surreal. Everyone dressed to the teeth, laughing at any joke, no matter how bad. And they would do the most outrageous things with the food. I remember once, there was a hot drink—I think it had chocolate in it—that would coagulate if you let it sit. So in the middle of the buffet table they'd rigged up this elaborate replica of an ancient earth fountain called the Trevi Fountian— and the drink flowed through that all evening, keeping it mixed."

"Mom and dad wouldn't let us try any," River said, drawing Kaylee and Simon's attention. "It had alcohol in it, but they didn't tell us that. We pulled a tube, and started drinking." She giggled like she was drunk. "Simon did most of the dancing that night. And the falling."

Simon turned pink but hid it quickly with concern. "River! Inara said you had an episode—that you collapsed."

River looked away. "Sympathies. Daydreams and ghosts."

He picked up his tiny flashlight and walked over to her, shining it in each of her eyes in turn. "Pupils are dilating normally. There's probably no head trauma, but I'd like to check for it nonetheless, to be safe." Simon laid a hand gently on her arm. "Why don't you sit down for a minute?"

River pushed the flashlight away. "You've got more important things. More important people."

Simon was hurt. "River, that's not true." She purposely avoided his gaze, which made his heart sink. "River, what's the matter? Did Jayne say something to you? I swear, he'll regret ever opening his mouth. . ."

She shook her head, looked up at him. "Always protecting me," she mumbled. She rubbed her left arm. Simon looked at it to make sure she wasn't hurt, but it seemed to be a nervous tic.

Simon pushed River's hair out of her eyes. "I will _always_ be here for you _mei mei._ Don't you ever doubt that for a minute." River still seemed uneasy. She teeter-tottered back and forth on her heels, but was not so unbalanced that Simon could take control of her and maneuver her onto a stool. She mumbled something as she swatted him away. "Please, River. . ." Simon tried to sit her down again.

"River," Kaylee coughed, "stay with us a spell. You can help Simon tell me stories—add in all those embarassin' bits he'd leave out."

River smiled, frowned, and finally let Simon lead her. She perched on the stool like an animal waiting to pounce. Simon seized upon the opportunity to check her pulse. She scowled at him but let him give her a brief checkup. "You promised you'd tell her stories."

"You collapsed," Simon reminded her. "I'm making sure you don't have a concussion."

"You should keep your promises." River insisted.

"I _will_," he said in his sternest no-nonsense voice, "as soon as I am sure that _you_ are all right. Remember _that_ promise?" River let out a heart wrenching little sob, threw her arms around her brother's stomach and started crying softly. Simon reacted by stroking her hair and suddenly began quietly singing. "_Xiao yan zi, chuan hua yi, nian nian chun tian, lai zhe li, wow en yan zi ni wei sha lai, yan zi shuo, zhe li di chun tian, zui mei li."_ He rocked his sister back and forth in his arms.

River clamed down as he sang. Kaylee watched the two of them, the way Simon doted on his sister, and hated to admit it to herself that she felt a tiny pang of jealousy. Even after all the attention Simon had been showing her lately—but it was professional attention. Maybe it wouldn't be one day, but right now it was what it was. Or that's what she thought. For some reason, as she faded in and out of consciousness in her worst moments, she swore she could hear Simon's voice calling her _bao bei._ Another hallucination, obviously. She let her eyes close. Simon had a wonderful singing voice, he should use it more often. . .

River let Simon give her a basic exam and he deemed that everything was okay. When he was done she tweaked his nose, and he smiled at her. "You're still looking good _mei mei_. . . but where's Inara and the Captian? They were supposed to be watching you."

River paused. Then she slid off her stool. "Have to go. Things to do. People to find. This time we're all seeking."

Simon took a few steps forward. "River. . ." he said, that parental note sneaking into his words.

"Promise I won't do anything bad," she assured him with an impish smile. "You need to tell her stories of magic balls and princes, remember?" When River's eyes fell upon Kaylee, her expression darkened for a moment. "Crystal paper wings carried poison. Princes are the only surefire fairytale cure for poison." River paused, then added. "She wouldn't eat the apple though. Wouldn't want to keep you away."

Simon stared at her helplessly as River skipped off. She wasn't upset, which was a good thing, but whenever she started saying things he didn't understand right away he got nervous. River did all sorts of unexpected things, and some were less pleasant that others. Simon was not typically a violent person—he went into the medical profession to save lives—but if he ever got his hands on the people who did this to his little sister they would know the true meaning of the word "pain."

Now he needed to return his attention to his other patient. Kaylee had fallen asleep on him again, it seemed. It disappointed him, he had wanted to tell her more stories. Her eyes would light up at the oddest moments; things he considered mundane were miracles to her. It was the difference between the core and the rim. He took advantage of such a great deal growing up, and now he was learning the very hard way how most people lived.

There was a knock on the infirmary doorframe. Simon turned to see Jayne, looking very uncomfortable, clutching a piece of paper in his hand. "Can I help you?" Simon said stiffly.

"Doc, I ain't been able t' go take a crap," Jayne said. "So I came here t' clear things up."

Simon hid his disgust at the thought. "Well, constipation isn't uncommon when one's diet is limited to protein and not much else. I believe I have a laxative here. . ."

"No, that ain't it," Jayne grunted, obviously embarrassed. "See, momma's watching, an' I can't—well I gotta read you this." He flipped open the grubby paper. "Dear Doc," he began, reading stiffly. "I-am-very-sorry-about-the-in-appropriate-things-I-said-to-you-earlier. I-was-very-wrong-and-should-not-have-been-so-mean-or-rude. Can-you-find-it-in-your-heart-to-for-give-me-of-this-transgression-against-both-you-and-Kay-lee? Signed, Jayne." The mercenary looked up at him expectantly.

Simon blinked at him a few times. "Uh. . . yes," he said finally.

Jayne looked relieved. He turned the paper over. "Dear Doc," he read, "Thank-you-very-much-for-your-understandin'-an'-compassion. I-promise-that-in-the-future-I-will-consider-my-words-more-carefully. Signed, Jayne." Then the big man bolted, making a beeline for what Simon estimated was the nearest bathroom.

Simon's mind drifted back to a long time ago when River was sitting on his lap, reading him some ancient Earth book she loved and saying "We're all mad here!" Simon thought he was finally understanding that phrase, but didn't find that particularly comforting.

*

The cockpit had been mercifully empty, the ship was still set on course, which Mal considered a blessing from God—for the Shepherd. Otherwise God had no place on his gorram boat. Mal certainly didn't want his help.

Inara next had them check the kitchen, where they found Book enjoying a cup of tea. He helped them check all of River's typical kitchen hiding places—the larger cabinets which were currently bare, nooks made by the corners of counters—but, again, they found themselves empty handed. Book offered to help them further, but Mal shook his head. "Makes no sense t' have yet another person on this wild goose chase. Call us if she happens to turn up."

Book didn't protest as he watched them go. Maybe those two would finally have the talk they needed if they had a little time alone.

"Maybe we should check back at the shuttle again Or the cargo bay," Inara suggested.

Mal nodded curtly. "That girl's a wiz at getting herself lost."

"On a ship like this? That isn't very hard. It was meant to conceal things," Inara said.

Mal considered this for a moment as they beat a path to the cargo bay. "Sometimes I don't wonder if the things most hidden here aren't the things in plain sight.

Inara was unsettlingly quiet behind him. "Such as?"

Mal coughed. "Well, let's take the Shepherd, for example. There's a man who knows a great deal 'bout things he shouldn't—"

Mal yelled in surprise when River's head popped out of one of his smuggling nooks. Inara also jumped and grabbed his arm. When he looked at her hand, Inara let go as if scalded.

"Life comes from the womb," River said, her eyes wide with her own special brand of madness. "I've been there twice. She'll need it too."

And as swiftly as she appeared, she vanished back into the hidey-hole.

Mal hammered his fist into the wall next to the hole three times. "River! You come out here right now! I'm in no mood for games."

"Mal!" Inara grabbed his arm again. "That's no way to handle the situation!" she scolded him.

Mal waved at the compartment. "You want me to go in there after her? 'Cuz that won't be pleasant for either of us. There's very little room, and all we'll achieve is knocking each other about until we've both got bruises."

"There's still no need to yell!"

"I ain't the one yelling right now," Mal countered.

Inara rolled her eyes at him. "I swear, Malcolm Reynolds, you just keep giving me reasons to—"

"To what, _leave?_ Seems you're already of the mindset t' do that anyway." Mal fumed. "Or are you gonna give me a little black mark in that registry of yours? I think we both know that even if I had that kinda money t' spend, I ain't good enough t' make it onto the list of fine gentlemen you'd sleep with!"

The silence following was the loudest piece of quiet in the history of the 'verse. Tight-lipped diplomats had glared at each other across tables and started wars in roaring silences that were much quieter. Yet, neither Mal nor Inara was glaring. In fact, Inara's lips had parted in slight shock, and the Captain was doing his best to hide the emotions that were making themselves almost plain on his face.

The sound of screeching—and possibly tearing—metal coming from River's hiding-place ended the moment. Without a second thought Mal launched himself into the hole with a string of curses that would have made even Jayne's insensitive ears ring.

*

"Now what in the _hell_ are you digging this thing out for?"

Mal was both happy and furious with River. Happy because she hadn't torn a hole in his ship. Furious because he had gotten him all frightened and riled, two emotions he did not like to show in front of anyone—especially Inara. As of that moment, however, curiosity and confusion were quickly replacing their emotional siblings.

River was attempting to single-handedly push the cryo-chamber she'd arrived on _Serenity_ into the main cargo area. It had seen much better days. Every now and again the crew had taken to tearing off pieces of the box and selling them, since a poor ship like _Serenity_ having a full 1,300 credit cryo-chamber to sell would have sent up some red flags. Kaylee had even re-rigged some of the drivers and used some insulation in ship repairs. They'd used it as a freezer once when they'd gotten some real, fresh meat they could use. That was before they'd removed most of the temperature-control apparatuses—now it was more of a run-down fridge than a cryogenic freezer.

"Broken things can be useful," River said. "But not here. Gotta move it closer."

"Closer to _what?_" Mal asked, but River ignored him and continued to push the box. "Hey, hey now, closer to what?"

"I don't think she's going to answer you," Inara said. "If you help her with it, you'll find out."

"Help her push a half-broken box somewhere on my boat for no reason?"

Inara rolled her eyes slightly. "Or you can watch her and it'll take much longer for you to get your answer."

"You could help her," Mal grunted.

"Not in that skirt," River muttered without looking up from her task. Mal snorted.

"All right, I'll help you push the gorram thing," he said. "But you'd best have a very good reason for this."

"Always have a reason," River said flatly. "Discerning it the hard part. Hurry now, before the fire starts."

Mal frowned. "What fire? Last time you were talkin' 'bout fire, it turned out mightily unpleasant."

River gave him a look normally reserved for her brother's stupid comments. "It's metaphoric."

"Riiight. Sorry," Mal said, but the girl had fallen silent and was ignoring him. "Glad I'm just the muscle on this boat, not, you know, Captain or anything."

"Honestly," Inara said, watching the whole affair with some amusement, "I wonder if that wouldn't be a better arrangement for all of us."

Mal didn't dignify that with an answer, but he tried a little too hard to ignore it, which made a tiny smirk tug at Inara's lips. The Companion watch with some interest as the Captain and River shifted the stripped cryo-chamber further and further along.

*

Normally the screens on the infirmary walls were Simon's allies. However, they were in the process of showing him how very treacherous they could be. The doctor was fighting an uphill battle against them—every time he thought he'd gotten Kaylee to a safe point, one of them would begin beeping, flashing or otherwise alerting him to another, more critical problem. When Kaylee was conscious she would make quiet jokes—when she was hallucinating about emerald cities and blue feathered men. Simon was relieved she didn't again see Jubal Early, but he wasn't exactly thrilled by his replacements.

Kaylee would also reassure him of her complete faith in his abilities, which made Simon feel terrible. He didn't have the heart to tell her the severity of the situation. He was frantically scrambling for anything, _anything_ that would get him one step ahead of this, instead of two steps behind. Right now he was trying to hold off the worst case scenario for as long as he could.

"Hey, doc," Zoe approached, making Simon look away from the latest bad news. "Thought you might need some company. . . or a break?"

The latter sounded more like an order than a friendly suggestion. It rubbed Simon the wrong way. "No, I'm fine, thank you," he said, without bothering to elaborate. Zoe, however, understood the look in his eyes. She'd seen it before on the faces of men who were fighting battles they could not win—the Captain had mastered that look a long time ago.

"You keep pushing like this, you're going to make _yourself_ ill," Zoe pointed out. "Then you'll be of no use to her whatsoever."

Simon whirled on her. It was not a smart move. Men had their arms broken for giving Zoe funny looks. However, the doctor wasn't in his best state of mind. "I can reattach legs, rebuild lungs, and remove bullets from spines without paralyzing my patients, but I'm a trauma surgeon not an immunologist! I just assumed, like a _tian di wu yohn huen dahn_ that Kaylee had been vaccinated because I had. My sister wandering around the ship I can't go check on her because if I leave this room I'm putting _her life_—" he waved at Kaylee—"in danger. There's too much space between us and the next planet and I'm wracking my brain to figure out what to do—and I'm ignoring the fact that anti-viral treatments are supposed to be specific to the virus. These general ones that the Alliance developed are only about 40% effective. Ill? If fall ill I will prop myself up with stilts and keep working. Nothing short of my own gruesome demise will stop me."

Zoe looked at the hand that Simon had been waving at her and said very steadily, "I'm gonna give you some leeway here, 'cause you're stressed, but you're gonna get that outta my face or you're gonna lose it."

Simon's hand dropped to his side, and he took a deep breath. "I'm—I'm so sorry. I'm running out of options. . .time. . .ideas. . . I just gave Kaylee the last anti-viral treatment I had." He laughed bitterly, "The 40% effective one." Simon tugged on his ear. "How's Wash?" he asked lamely.

"Pretty much the same. Sleepin' it off as if he was hung over," Zoe informed him. She noticed that the doctor was unable to concentrate on her words, his eyes kept flickering from Kaylee to his instruments. "Growin' some blue warts on his nose though. Might want to take a look at that."

"As soon as I can," Simon said, flipping through some digital readouts.

"Also started singin' opera. In falsetto."

"Could be problematic," Simon grunted.

Zoe rolled her eyes. There was no getting through to Simon, so she thought it better just to leave him be. Or send Book to talk with him; the Shepherd might have better luck penetrating the thick coat of worry. She took a half-step out of the infirmary.

"Zoe," the doctor's voice piped up. "I apologize. I'm wrapped up in this. . . I'm barely listening to you." She turned to him. The desperate last stand expression was replaced by a weariness that made Simon look nearly twenty years older. "Did you say. . . _warts?"_

Zoe had to quash her smirk. "No, nothing like that. He's fine, I promise." She paused, sighed and asked, "When exactly was the last time you left the infirmary?"

"I—I've been here since Kaylee was admitted," Simon rubbed his ear, slightly embarrassed.

Zoe folded her arms. There was a long silence. Finally, she broke it. "I'm getting you some of that mud my husband calls coffee. You look like you need three months sleep, but the swill will have to do."

Simon looked surprised, but managed a genuine smile. "Thank you."

She gave him a serious look. "This is a one time thing. I ain't domestic, even for my husband."

"Understood. . . and appreciated," the doctor said. "I really could use something to jump-start my brain at this juncture."

"Dunno about jump-starting, but it'll sure shock you some," Zoe chuckled. Wash had been using the same filter for the "coffee" for over two years. She wasn't entirely sure it had been a clean coffee filter at any point in time. In fact, it had always looked suspiciously like one of the filters Kaylee used on the intakes in the engine. Wash swore by it, but Jayne wouldn't touch it even with copious amounts of alcohol in it, which certainly said something about the quality. What, exactly, Zoe wasn't sure. She just knew she'd had a sip once and her tongue nearly jumped ship right then and there.

Luckily for him, Simon would never get to try Wash's swill. Unluckily, it was because at that moment the infirmary lit up like the back of the ship on full-burn and the shrieking alarms began. However, it was Kaylee seizing up like someone had taken a sledgehammer to her stomach that drew his attention first.

"No. . . no, no, no, no, _no!"_ Simon shouted. "Her temperature is spiking!" His eyes frantically raked over the screens. "Zoe. . . you have to help me strip her!"

"_What?"_ Zoe asked, her mind suddenly jumping back to Jayne's inappropriate comment hours earlier. "_Strip_ her?"

"Yes! We have to bring her temperature down otherwise at _best_ she'll suffer irreversible brain damage," Simon exploded. "We need to strip her and pack her in as many ice packs as we can."

Ever the woman of action, Zoe needed no further explanation. Between the two of them they removed all of Kaylee's clothes except her undergarments in a flurry of hands and cloth. "Where's the ice, doc?"

Simon didn't answer. His eyes had alighted on an almost invisible circular scar on Kaylee's stomach. His mind raced backwards over a series of moments:

Her arms were around his neck and she was crying into his shoulder, terrified of the hallucination of a man—no, a.

He was unintentionally flirting with her—wait, _flirting?_ Oh, _go se,_ he _had_ been flirting!—as they watched the Lear's macaw among the beautiful greenery of Leihuang.

He felt his heart plunge as Jubal Early told him what he'd do to Kaylee if Simon didn't cooperate.

There was a moment where he'd reached for her—to show her exactly what on this ship he was "glad of"—and Shepherd Book had passed between them, shattering it.

He was furious with Kaylee over what she'd said about his sister in front of the rest of the crew. "Not anyone who's a person?" how could she say that?

She was laughing at him as he told her his "sake morality tale," and grinning when he accidentally challenged her to picture him naked.

She was slowly twining her fingers into his at Tracy's funeral.

She was being held hostage, though it would only be seconds until Mal shot his former comrade-in-arms to save her.

She was mad at him, still yet again. He'd tried to call her the only girl in the 'verse but mucked it all up.

He was being presented with a protein cake with chocolaty frosting. . . though he'd never get the chance to eat it. Or thank her for it.

She was mad at him, _again,_ when they'd woken up in the bar on Canton and he'd stumbled over his words to the Captain.

He vaguely remembered calling her pretty, and meaning every word of what he said. Why was it so much easier to tell her these things drunk? Oh, what did it matter? She was radiant. . .

He was ready to die with his sister in the fire, but felt this terrible pain in his heart that he'd never see a certain smile again. Then two very strange angels descended from the heavens and saved them both.

He was frustrated, trying to keep track of River in a small shop on a backwater planet, and he spouted a fountain of nasty comments—it put the light out in Kaylee's eyes like a bulb somewhere had burned a fuse.

He'd caught a glimpse of Kaylee in her fancy dress before she left with the Captain. He'd never told her how wonderful she'd looked in it. Even if it was the silliest dress he'd ever seen, she made it look nothing short of perfect.

She was dead. Dead, the Captain told him. That sweet girl, dead, and it was his fault. He was running, running, running. . . and there she was, waving at him with a smile. That man was a lunatic!

He was operating on this girl he barely knew, fixing a wound that he knew should have been in his gut, not hers.

She was delirious, having just been shot. He had to move fast to save her. In her voice, he could hear the pain. . .

The gunshot was louder than anything he'd every heard and Kaylee, that cute mechanic, was falling to the ground, blood pouring from her chest.

That brute—Jayne was it?—was saying some completely inappropriate things that was not only making him uncomfortable, but was embarrassing that Kaylee girl as well. At least the Captain had the good sense to send him away, even if it _was_ a little delayed.

The mechanic was introducing him to the Captain, a rough sort who didn't seem to take to him. She, on the other hand, seemed extremely enthusiastic about the idea of him on board this ship.

He was looking for the most disreputable boat he could find, one with men who would not interfere with his affairs. Suddenly, a cheerful, grease-stained face appeared to him out of the crowd, and showed him her ship—the _Serenity._ He could use some of that, and she seemed like a genuinely decent person; she wouldn't be flying with complete scoundrels. . .

"_DOC!"_

Simon snapped out of it. "Ice packs—" he stammered, "Ice packs are in that drawer. They're activated by cracking them, causing the chemicals to mix. . ."

Zoe yanked the drawer open and scooped up two packs. "I hate to break this to you, but there's not enough here. Maybe eight total."

"We'll use whatever we have. We've got to bring her temperature down somehow, and if that's the best we've got. . ."

"What about a tub of cold water?"

Zoe and Simon stared at the Captain in shock. "A—what?" Simon said. "Well, yes, that would be much more ideal but we don't have. . ." His eyes lit up when he saw the Captain's very subtle smile. "Do we?"

"Zoe, help me move her," Mal ordered, though he didn't need to. Zoe was already at Kaylee's head, ready to support the mechanic's shoulders. The two of them heaved the mechanic up and very quickly, but carefully, rushed her to the nearest point of the cargo bay, where River had finally settled the beaten-up cryo-chamber. Inara was dumping a final bucket of water into the metal structure.

Simon, who hesitated only to grab some supplies and a few ice packs, was amazed at the sight. "Make sure you keep her head above the water line. She's been seizing."

"It's okay, we got it," Mal replied. He and Zoe settled the mechanic into the cool liquid. Kaylee shivered and shuddered at first, but did not wake. Eventually her breathing became steadier. Simon checked her temperature. It wasn't great, but she wasn't in immediate danger. His shoulders relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. He heard it echo as his companions saw him relaxing and let out their own breath. He turned to the Mal and indicated the cryo-chamber-turned-tub.

"How did you. . .?" Simon couldn't finish, but stared at Mal, astonished.

Mal nodded over his shoulder. "No, Doc, credit should be given where it's due. Thank her."

River stood there, looking very much like she wanted to hide. Simon dropped his supplies, walked over and embraced her. Hugging her tightly, Simon let a few tears drop onto her shoulder. "_Mei mei. . ._ you're. . ." he laughed. "You're amazing."

She squirmed in his arms like a child trying to get away from an overprotective parent—embarrassed, rather than disturbed, by the display of affection. She looked at him from under her long hair and her expression changed to one of frustration. "You're still going to be mute. You're such a _boooob_." River pushed him and Simon let her go. "You make it very hard to help you." She pouted.

"You did a wonderful job _mei mei_. I promise," he said. River rolled her eyes. He shook his head slightly, knowing the look.- "Kaylee's temperature is stabilizing, but she obviously can't be left in this state unsupervised," he explained to Mal, Zoe and Inara. "Once I can confirm that she's not going to get any worse, we can get her out of there, dry her off and wrap her in blankets."

"Zoe and Inara can watch her 'till that time," Mal said he waved the doctor over to his side.

"I really should be here to supervise. . ." Simon began, hesitating to walk over.

Mal smirked and raised an eyebrow. "So, you want to sit around starin' at my mechanic in her wet underwear?"

Simon turned bright red and made several sputtering noises before he said, "Of course not. . .that would be. . . completely inappropriate. . .I'd never. . ."

Mal threw an arm around Simon and patted the doctor on the back. "C'mon. In ten minutes you can come check on her again. She ain't going nowhere, an' the girls know t' call you if there's somethin' wrong."

"Did he jus' call us _"the girls?"" _Inara exchanged a glance with Zoe.

"I believe he did," Zoe replied. "Not sure how I feel 'bout that."

Mal cringed. "Now, ladies. . ."

River interjected, "That's certainly more appropriate." Zoe laughed and Inara gently laced her fingers together, smiling.

Mal folded his arms. "We gonna mince words or are you gonna watch over li'l Kaylee while the doc regains the ability to speak in full sentences?"

"I can. . .I'm perfectly capable of. . ." Simon frowned. "What I mean to say is. . ."

"Listen to the Captain,' Zoe shooed him off. "Sometimes he has good ideas. Other times, not so much."

"Hey now. Is this mutiny?" Mal asked.

"Would never dream of it, sir." Zoe replied.

Mal shook his finger at them. "Make sure it stays that way." He strode out of the cargo bay, giving a little head jerk to Simon, indicating the doctor should follow.

"One moment," Simon said. He picked up his supplies and walked over to Kaylee. He took out a black circular patch and peeled a layer of protective film off, then gently pressed it to the mechanic's forehead. Green numerals flickered across the black surface, then started giving a readout of the mechanic's temperature, which was currently reading 39 degrees Celsius/102.2 degrees Fahrenheit. Then he passed his bag to Inara. "I don't have any anti-viral treatments left, but this and this," he tapped two needles, "are doses of painkillers, and they can help to reduce fevers. If she wakes up and has a headache, give her one. If her fever goes _any_ higher than 40 degrees Celsius, call me, and I'll administer the dose. If her fever spikes again—if it comes even _close_ to 41 degrees—you start throwing icepacks into that water, give her a dose, then call me. It's vital we keep her temperature _below_ that 41 degree mark. She looks to be okay now, but I want to be on the safe side."

"We understand," Inara said. "Go on."

Simon and Mal made their way up to the kitchen. Mal cleared his throat as he rummaged through the cabinets for something non-protein to eat. He was disappointed. They hadn't managed to pick up anything worthwhile on Leihuang. "You know, I don't really care what. . . I'm not gonna interfere in. . ." He closed the cabinet, turned around, leaned back on the counter and coughed. Simon's eyes were trained on the captain, and he was certainly confused. "You—you've been doin' right by Kaylee, an' I think I might have given you th' wrong impression over this trip. She's in my crew. Been with us a long time now. Want her t' be with us a long time more. Life like this ain't exactly ideal for her an' anytime she's in danger. . .It gets me a mite tetchy. . . an' you're an easy scapegoat, bein' th' fellow who's got t' make her right."

Simon looked around. The captain being open and apologizing to him like this made him uneasy, to say the least. He felt something bad was about to happen. There was also a strange tension in the atmosphere, as if Mal wasn't saying all that he wanted to. "I haven't exactly been in the best frame of mind myself. I'm quite lucky, actually, that Zoe didn't kill me earlier. I gave her some lip," he rubbed his ear.

"Zoe knows more about people's feelin's then she lets on," Mal said. "Been able t' read me like a book for almost as long as I've known her. It's readin' her that's the trick. Now," he looked more serious, "I'm orderin' you to go get some rest."

"But I need to make sure Kaylee stays—" Simon began.

"Doc, you're a mess. Honestly, I wouldn't let you near me with a scalpel lookin' the way you do now—even if it meant all my manly bits were gonna fall off or my heart was gonna stop. Go. To. Bed. Tain't like your bunk's so far away from the infirmary that we can't rouse you if need be." Mal inclined his head slightly and gave Simon his you'd-best-not-be-arguin'-with-me look. "You'll scare Kaylee to death if she stops hallucinatin' an' gets a good look atcha."

Knowing that the fever spike was probably as bad as Kaylee was going to get, the doctor finally nodded in agreement. Simon could feel the exhaustion overtake him almost as soon as he decided to rest. Without another word he got up from the table and left the captain behind. His whole body felt like lead, and his mind was still focused on Kaylee—and River. His wonderful little sister who had somehow managed to save the day. . . Simon stumbled into his room, realizing just how tired he was. He'd been running on anxiety and adrenaline and now he was crashing.

He didn't bother trying to change, he flopped down on the bed and his eyes were closed before he pulled he covers over him. He'd take a quick cat-nap to recharge. Then he'd check in with the girls—_ladies_—and make sure that Kaylee was still stable. After that he'd. . .

Simon's thoughts faded into oblivion as sleep overtook him as swiftly as a breeze.

*

When he woke, Simon Tam knew two things: one, that he had slept a great deal longer than could be considered a cat-nap (unless, of course, you were a cat), and two, that he was being watched. He assumed that he knew by whom, so rolled over and said, "What's wrong, River?"

That's when he caught sight of not River, but Kaylee, in a primarily red and blue silk Chinese robe. She was pale and appeared unsteady on her feet, but she was smiling at him from the doorway. Kaylee hovered there, at the entrance to the room. Simon attempted to get out of bed, failed to extract himself from the covers, and fell to the ground. He was back on his feet in mere seconds, but the tumble was enough to coax Kaylee to take a step into his room. Simon was at her elbow as soon as he stood up, so she went not further.

"What are you doing up? You should be resting," Simon said, worried. As an afterthought he added, "What _are_ you wearing?"

"Ain't it nice?" Kaylee said proudly. "It's 'Nara's. She lent it to me on account that I got all wet an' was somewhat hard to redress afterwards." There was an impish tug at the corners of her mouth. "It was somethin' of a shock, wakin' up in a cold tub with you nowhere t' be found. 'Specially considerin' what I was wearin'. Or wasn't, as the case may be."

Simon dodged the comment by making a move to take her back to the infirmary. "I'm glad you're feeling better," he said, with a very genuine relief, "but you should still be resting. Someone _should_ have been watching over you," Simon started mentally making a note to tell Mal off for letting him sleep that long. What if Kaylee had needed medical attention? Well, she obviously hadn't, but that wasn't the point.

"Oh, there was someone watchin' me. She thought I should give you a wake up call." Kaylee tugged on his arm to show him who he meant.

River was perched on the stool, grinning at her brother with the satisfied look of a cat after dinner. Simon shook his head. "You are a real pain in the—you're a pain _mei mei_," but he said it with affection. He turned from River when he felt Kaylee stumble slightly. Without thinking Simon wrapped his arms around her to make sure she didn't fall. The way Kaylee looked at him at that moment completely erased his medical schooling, his ability to speak, and all but the most basic of motor functions. River did her best to disappear. "Let's—let's get you to the bed—_the exam table!"_ his voice cracked as he corrected himself far too quickly. Kaylee laughed at him, a laugh clearly working itself free of the ills that had been plaguing her.

"Your sister's been tellin' me tales of your "wild" youth," Kaylee said as she laid back down on the table. "You an' sake have had some terribly fun times. Why've you only told me the one story?"

"Because I didn't want to make myself look like a _complete_ buffoon," Simon shot his sister a glance.

River shrugged. "You could have been here to tell her instead, but you went to sleep."

"Mal practically forced me to," Simon said to Kaylee. "Otherwise I would have been here as soon as you woke up. . ."

Kaylee gave him a blissful smile. "Don' you worry about it. 'Sides, River's given me plenny-o-things to use against you." The smile transformed into a wicked grin

"Is that so? Then I guess the things you told me while you were sick will be fair game too," Simon did his best to look saintly.

"The stories I—" Kaylee blinked. "Wait, what did I tell you?"

Simon did his best to look serious. "Well, it wouldn't' be gentlemanly of me to repeat them, but should tales of my past exploits be used against me. . ."

Kaylee punched him in the arm. Simon winced. It hurt which, he noted, was a good sign. She was getting her strength back. "So, do we have an accord?"

"Yeah," the mechanic pouted. "But they were such funny stories. . ."

Simon sat on the edge of the bed. "How about I tell you some more about the parties they had on Osiris? Would that be sufficient?"

Kaylee very carefully took his hand and gave it a little squeeze. "I think I could live with that."

That was how Mal came across them later, with Simon telling his girls about some fairytale ballroom that could only exist in the Core. Mal considered checking in, getting the full details of how his mechanic was doing, but decided against it. He'd let them have a while to themselves. They deserved it. And if Kaylee was recovering nicely, mayhap he could get his pilot to actually fly the gorram boat like he was supposed to. The faster they got to their destination, the sooner they could stock up on supplies and the sooner Zoe would stop giving him a hard time. Laughter from the infirmary chased after the Captain as he stepped away.

Inside the room, Simon was elated to watch both his sister and Kaylee enjoying themselves. While he knew in his heart that the moment wouldn't last, he was more than happy to hold onto it for as long as possible. When they'd all return to their normal routines a few days later, River would roll her eyes at him and call him "Boob," every time she saw him. Simon didn't understand, but she knew exactly what he was denying himself and why. River also knew either he'd figure it out or Kaylee would get frustrated with him and yell at him about it—she expected the latter, she _could_ read both of them like books—but one way or another they'd get there.

Love, after all, was another type of fever. It simply had to run its course.


	5. Epilogue: Aftermath

Fever

_Epilogue: Aftermath_

The 'verse was very different now.

Less than a week ago the crew had been going about their somewhat "normal" routine of crime, sans Inara and Book, who had left the ship months beforehand. It had taken some time to adjust to their absence. Mal had been grouchier, Jayne (oddly enough) more subdued, and Kaylee a little less gossipy since she didn't have anyone to share with. That transition had been a slow one. This recent one had been violent and abrupt.

Wash and Book had been laid to rest, along with Mister Universe. Inara had returned to the ship, and the sparks between her and Mal were more vibrant than ever. River seemed to be growing more stable by the day—to a certain extent—and the darkest secret of the Alliance and Parliament had been forced into the light—beamed onto every screen that ever existed. And yet it was another, smaller, less earth-shattering secret being revealed that meant the most to the young doctor and mechanic of the _Serenity_.

They were _supposed_ to be working on the ship; both Kaylee and Simon knew that. They _had_ been working—Simon had the wrench he'd been using in his hand—but when they practically knocked each other over, stabilizing themselves using the ladder to the upper decks, all of what they were supposed to do was forgotten.

Kaylee made the first quiet move. Her left hand rested very softly on the bare skin just above Simon's hip and she leaned in just far enough to brush his lips with hers. Simon could feel every single point of contact between the two of them as if they were red-hot and wisely discarded the wrench. They were both tentative at first. So much had happened, so quickly. It almost felt sacrilegious to want what they did. It was a natural reaction to the horrors they had seen and the belated admission the doctor had made at the very brink of what could have been the final moment of their lives. Simon now had a scar on his stomach that mirrored Kaylee's own, and he vowed not to waste another moment.

Kaylee's arm slipped from his side and wrapped around his neck, pulling Simon closer, as his own arm pressed against her back to do much the same. Their kiss deepened, gaining a feverish intensity as they used the ladder as a fulcrum to lower themselves to the floor. It had been a year and change since Simon had left everything behind, and not for one blessed second did he regret it—in Kaylee he had gained so very much more.

They didn't notice River peering in on them. She wasn't there to peep or watch, so much as feel the emotional waves reeling off Kaylee and Simon. For some time now she had wanted them to be happy; with all the hurt currently bouncing around _Serenity_ it was gratifying to know that they were exactly that—blissfully happy, completely and (it took gorram long enough!) _admittedly_ in love.

When Simon and Kaylle started getting more. . . _intimate_, River slipped away. Her brother had healed the physical wounds of the crew of _Serenity_ for so long. It was time she followed his example with the emotional ones.

The 'verse was very different now, the fever had run its course. In the aftermath lay the truth—stark and bright and burning—that love came from many places; two completely different worlds and lives could—and had—become one.


	6. Chinese Glossary and Final Author's Note

**Final Author's Note:**

_For all th' stories of the 'Verse what never got told._

That is really what this story is dedicated to. To the tales that were cut short. To Joss, who watched his story mangled, ripped out from under him, and still return triumphant. To the cast of _Serenity_ who made the characters and chemistry unforgettable. To the hope that Joss will get out there and finally tell _more_ stories set in the 'verse, whether it be via comic books or his internet TV channel he's working on. Mimicry is the highest from of flattery, because only truly beautiful things can inspire.

To you, the readers of this story I'd also like to say "Thank you!" There's nothing quite like having a story read and appreciated. I always like to hear praise and criticism so I can make the next story—be it fan fiction or my own—that much better.

_**Glossary of Chinese Terms**_

_**(in order of first appearance)**_

_**Chapter One: Leihuang**_

_Jing chai-_ Brilliant

_Chui sei-_ Go to hell!

_Kuh ai­- _Cute

_Ta ma duh-_ Damn it!

_Mei mei (_and later, _xiao mei mei)-_ Sister (little sister)

_Lurn shwei jah jwohn-_ Merciless bastards

_Dun mah?_- Understand?

_Mi tian gohn-_ Piece of shit (literally "excrement")

_**Chapter Two: Symptoms **_

Scene 3

_Sah gwa- _Fool

_Cheong bao ho tze-_ Monkey raping (used here as a general swear)

_Ai yah tien ah-_ Merciless hell

_**Chapter Three: Ghosts**_

Scene 4

_Ri shao shi bing-_ Dog shit (literally "Pile of sun-baked dog poo")

Scene 6

_Wong bah duhn- _Son of a bitch!

Scene 8

_Bao bei-_ Sweetheart

_How w'rin ba lai whai w'rin bu jwo_- Good luck don't come, bad luck don't leave—or "Things never go smooth."

_**Chapter Four: Sacrifices**_

Scene 2

_Xiao yan zi, chuan hua yi, nian nian chun tian, lai zhe li, wow en yan zi ni wei sha lai, yan zi shuo, zhe li di chun tian, zui mei li_- These are the lyrics for a Chinese lullaby called "Little Swallow." This is the rough translation: _Little swallow, dressed colorfully, Comes here every spring, I asked her "Why do you come here?" She said, "The spring here is the most beautiful." Little swallow, let me tell you, It's more beautiful here this year. We've built large factories, And equipped new machines, Please live here forever._

Scene Five

_Tian di wu yohn huen dahn-_ Completely useless bastard

_Go se-_ Crap


End file.
